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Female Torso

1906; cast ca. 1908
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Henri Matisse informally named this dynamic bronze of a female torso "La Vie," or "Life." Interestingly, Matisse specialists have often associated this sculpture to his early interest in African art, seeing in the projecting breasts and arched back references to carved female figures from Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Featured in 1912 at the 291 gallery, in the first exhibition dedicated entirely to Matisse’s sculptures, it was purchased by Stieglitz shortly afterward.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Female Torso
  • Artist: Henri Matisse (French, Le Cateau-Cambrésis 1869–1954 Nice)
  • Date: 1906; cast ca. 1908
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: H. x W. x D.: 9 1/8 x 4 x 3 in. (23.2 x 10.2 x 7.6 cm)
  • Classification: Metal-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing