Matisse’s drawings of his beautiful nurse fetch £189,000
Six pencil drawings by the artist Henri Matisse sold for £188,995 at auction in London today.
The simple line sketches were put up for sale by the subject herself, Denise Arokas.
Madame Arokas, now 69, modelled for the drawings while working as a young nurse for the ailing master in 1952, just two years before he died.
The beautiful ex-fashion model was employed to care for the artist, who was by then in his 80s, by his Russian companion Lydia Delectorskaya.
Matisse was said to be captivated by his 19-year-old nurse’s beauty and used her as his muse.
A spokesman for Christie’s auction house in London, said: ‘‘We were very pleased with the results of the sale.
‘‘Obviously the history behind the drawings helped with the final outcome and Matisse is also a very collectable artist.’’
One sketch, Visage de Face, went to a private bidder for £102,750. The picture, drawn in Nice in 1952, measuring 36.8cm by 27.5cm, had a pre-sale estimation of £40,000 to £60,000.
All the sketches were of Arokas’s face, but this one was more detailed than the others, said the spokesman.
‘‘She was very beautiful,’’ he added.
A seventh Matisse sketch at the sale remained unsold.
