Henri Matisse - Portrait of Saul Stein 1916
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Portrait of Saul Stein 1916
72x56cm oil/canvas
Private collection
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From the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco:
Of the members of the intellectually stalwart Stein family — Gertrude, her brothers Leo and Michael, and Michael's wife, Sarah — it was Sarah whose bond with Matisse transcended that of patron/artist and reached a level of spiritual connection. "She knows my paintings better than I do," Matisse is purported to have said.
In the sole instance of double portraiture in his career, Matisse executed bust-length paintings of Sarah and Michael Stein. Though perhaps commissions, the portraits were more likely made in homage to the artist's most passionate American supporters. The two works of art are of comparable size and share a somber palette, but the portrait of Sarah is the more complex of the two.