art-Matisse.com
Henri Matisse 1869-1954
©Henri Matisse - The Inattentive Reader 1921
 The Inattentive Reader |
From the Tate Gallery, London, UK:
Matisse painted this work during an extended stay in a hotel in Nice in the south of France. Although the woman was probably a professional model, Matisse creates a sense of casual intimacy, and uses details in this anonymous setting to touch on serious themes. The distracted reader assumes the head-in-hand pose traditionally associated with melancholy, while the flowers and mirror are reminders of the transience of life.