Lettuce x Auckland Art Gallery Puzzle - Matisse Spanish Woman

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is proud to collaborate with Lettuce to release these wonderful puzzles. 

Resting her elbows on a striped tablecloth, ballerina and musician Henriette Darricarrère gazes nonchalantly at the viewer. Showing her dressed in the traditional costume of a Spanish dancer and surrounded by an exquisite floral backdrop, this intimate portrait is typical of Henri Matisse’s Nice period (1917–30), in which he frequently depicted voluptuous female figures in various stages of exotic (un)dress in luxurious interiors. For Matisse, his portraits were not just about capturing likeness; they were carefully planned compositions that expressed how he felt in their company. In Espagnole (Buste) [The Spanish Woman], 1922, his closeness with his favourite model at the time is unmistakable. Heady and sensuously enticing – with perhaps an aroma of perfume thickening the air – the painting draws us into its fold to luxuriate in its decorative beauty.

26.5 x 21.5 x 5.5cm boxed
65 x 52cm assembled
1000 pieces