Center Stage: The Laura Pels Collection | Act I: Fine Art

Aurélia Engel has confirmed the authenticity of this work, which can be found in Françoise Gilot's archives under number 440.13.

Lot note:

When Picasso introduced Gilot to Henri Matisse in March 1946 in Villa ‘Le Rêve’ in Vence, the two artists experienced an almost instantaneous complicity, Gilot later acknowledging “He was my God.” Matisse’s heritage is more than evident in the present work, not only in the vast expanse of the color red throughout the canvas, but also in the way the shapes that define the model are arranged, almost as a melody.

The Model dates from just a few years after Gilot’s separation with Picasso. It shows, through a powerful manipulation of color, Gilot’s emancipation from one master to embrace the lyrical style of another. The Model therefore stands as a work of transition, and pivotal transformation, employing figurative elements to a most abstract, emotional effect channeled by the color scheme. A dominant presence throughout the artist’s painterly oeuvre, the overall bright red here appears luminous, warm, and comforting, recalling the saturated interiors of Matisse (and his famous Red Studio), and enhancing the hints of purple, green and pink carefully orchestrated around.

The subject is also an important one, as it stands as a reappropriation of a topic long subjected to the male gaze, thus offering here a distinct, resolutely female perspective on the theme.