.Matisse arranged the studio in Nice, which he moved into in 1921, like a theatre set with objects and models. This variant on the odalisque theme is characterised by the rigorous use of orthogonal lines in the composition and the wealth of colourful patterns. In a book commissioned by Paul Guillaume to raise the profile of his collection, the critic Waldemar-George (1893-1970) wrote that Matisse rivals the great rose window of Chartres cathedral, that jewel in which rubies, sapphires, emeralds and amethyst: set into a wall cast their dazzling fire with baleful brightness”
HENRI MATISSE, LE CATEAU-CAMBRÉSIS 1869 _ NICE 1954, Odalisque à la culotte grise, 1927, Huile sur toile, Musée Orangerie Paris. Photo: Daniel Rabinovich