Henri Matisse lived at the villa Le Rêve in Vence from 1943 to1948.
Here he created a sensuous world, bringing to Vence all the objects
without which he could not draw and paint—jugs, vases, tables and
chairs, shells, fabrics.A young Russian-born photographer, Hélène
Adant, often came to visit her cousin Lydia Delectorskaya, who was
Matisse's model and assistant from 1935 onward. Adant's photographs are
a unique record, a series of freeze-frames that reveal the nature of
Matisse's preparation for his art: perhaps an ornate Venetian chair
partners a wrought-iron table displaying a yellow pitcher and melons; a
pot of lilies or an octagonal Moroccan table are added. Matisse, hat on
head, draws his Haitian model wearing a frilled blouse that Lydia has
provided for the sitting.
Marie-France Boyer's text evokes the particular atmosphere of Le Rêve, where Matisse produced Yellow and Blue Interior of 1946, Large Red Interior
Author Biography: Marie-France Boyer has been the Paris editor for World of Interiors magazine for twenty years. Her books, including Cabin Fever, The French Café, and The Cult of the Virgin, all reveal her distinctive sensitivity for people, places, and objects.
