Odalisque with Raised Arms
Item
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Title
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Odalisque with Raised Arms
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Description
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Odalisque With Raised Arms is a painting by Henri Matisse, completed in 1923. The oil on canvas measuring 23 by 26 inches is held in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C. Matisse's style changed and evolved drastically throughout his career, including his wide and varying collection of paintings depicting female nudes.
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Date
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1923
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Material
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Oil on canvas
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Measurements
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68 cm × 64 cm (26 inches × 23 inches)
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Analysis
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Continues Orientalist fantasies of passive, exotic women:
(20th century) In Odalisque with Raised Arms, Matisse shows a reclining woman in a colorful, richly patterned room that suggests an exotic, Eastern setting. Her raised arms and relaxed pose make her seem vulnerable and draw the viewer’s attention. The decorative fabrics, jewelry, and hints of a harem-like environment support Western ideas about foreign sensuality. The painting presents her body as something to look at for beauty and desire, rather than as a person with her own agency. This continues the tradition of sexualizing women through the male gaze and uses Orientalist imagery to make her identity seem exotic.
