In 1916 and 1917, Henri Matisse made about fifty paintings of an artist’s model named Laurette (her family name is unknown). This series brought a focus, new to Matisse’s art, on the character of the sitter. What is more, Laurette seems to have portrayed a succession of distinct personalities from picture to picture. Here her face fills the composition against a background of uninterrupted color, bringing the composition a psychological intimacy. She appears pensive, even melancholy, with her cheek resting on her hand and her eyes looking into the middle distance.