The Back Series

The Back Series

Artist	Henri Matisse
Year	1909 - 1930
Type	Plaster / Bronze

The Back Series is a series of four bas-relief sculptures, by Henri Matisse. It's Matisse's largest and most monumental sculptures. The plaster originals are housed in the Musée Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France.

They were modeled between 1909 and 1930. Back (I) appeared in the second PostImpressionist show in London, and the Armory Show in New York City.^[1]

All four sculptures were unique plaster casts until 1950, when Back (I), (III), and (IV) were cast in bronze. Back (II) was rediscovered in 1955, a year after the artist’s death, then it was cast. The series have been cast in a bronze edition of twelve, included one for the artist's family. Nine complete sets are housed in nine major museums around the world:^[2]

• Musée National d'Art Moderne (Paris)^[3][4][5][6]
• Tate (London)^{[7][8][9][10]}
• Kunsthaus Zürich (Zürich)
• Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (Stuttgart)
• Museum of Modern Art (New York)^{[11][12][13][14]}
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington D. C.)^{[15][16][17][18]}
• Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden (Los Angeles)^{[19][20][21][22]}
• Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth)
• Museum of Fine Arts (Houston)^{[23][24][25][26]}

References

Henri Matisse (List of works)
Works	Le Mur Rose (Landscape, the Pink Wall) (1898) Notre-Dame, une fin d'après-midi (A Glimpse of Notre-Dame in the Late Afternoon) (1902) Luxe, Calme et Volupté (Luxury, Calm and Pleasure) (1904) La Raie Verte (The Green Line) (1905) The Open Window (1905) Woman with a Hat (1905) Les toits de Collioure (1905) Landscape at Collioure (1905) Le bonheur de vivre (1906) The Young Sailor II (1906) Self-Portrait in a Striped T-shirt (1906) Madras Rouge (1907) Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra) (1907) The Dessert: Harmony in Red (The Red Room) (1908) Game of Bowls (1908) Bathers with a Turtle (1908) Dance (1910) Music (1910) Still Life with Geraniums (1910) L'Atelier Rouge (1911) The Conversation (1908–1912) Zorah on the Terrace (1912) Window at Tangier (1912) Le Rifain assis (1912) View of Notre-Dame (1914) Woman on a High Stool (1914) Le rideau jaune (The Yellow Curtain) (1915) The Window (1916) The Painter and His Model (1917) Interior A Nice (1920) Odalisque with Raised Arms (1923) Yellow Odalisque (1926) The Back Series (1909-1930) The Dance II (mural) (1932) Robe violette et Anémones (1937) Woman in a Purple Coat (1937) La Blouse Roumaine (1940) Annelies, White Tulips and Anemones (1944) L'Asie (1946) Le Lanceur De Couteaux (1947) Deux fillettes, fond jaune et rouge (1947) The Plum Blossoms (1948) Beasts of the Sea (1950) The Sorrows of the King (1952) Black Leaf on Green Background (1952) La Négresse (1952) Blue Nude II (1952) The Snail (1953) Le Bateau (1953) Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence (Chapel of the Rosary) Jazz (book)
Shows	Salon d'Automne
Movement	Fauvism
Teachers	William-Adolphe Bouguereau Gustave Moreau John Peter Russell
Collectors	Sergei Shchukin Gertrude Stein Leo Stein Sarah Stein Albert C. Barnes Cone sisters
Family and friends	Amélie Matisse Pierre Matisse Paul Matisse Marguerite Matisse Pablo Picasso
Related	An Essay on Matisse Matisse Museum (Le Cateau) Musée Matisse (Nice)
Wikimedia	Matisse at Wiktionary Matisse at Wikibooks Matisse at Wikiquote Matisse at Wikisource Matisse at Commons Matisse at Wikinews
Models	Greta Moll Henriette Darricarrère Lydia Delectorskaya