Henri Matisse – Odalisque au fauteuil noir. UPDATE: IT MADE £15.83 MILLION
Henri Matisse’s Odalisque au fauteuil noir will be a highlight at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale in London on February 3. Dated 1942 the portrait depicts Princess Nézy-Hamidé Chawkat, the great granddaughter of the last Sultan of Turkey. The exquisitely coloured painting is one of the finest of the artist’s celebrated ‘Odalisque’ paintings to come to the market and is estimated at £9-12 million. It will be shown at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong from January 9-12.
The Princess was spotted in the street by Matisse in 1940. He was drawn to her dark, striking looks. After a formal request permission was granted by the Princesses grandmother for her to sit for the artist, accompanied by a chaperone. Over the course of almost two years she became his favourite model. The painting reflects Matisse’s interest in orientalism, which he first began to explore in the 1920’s.