Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Matisse represented the female nude many times, both in painting and in sculpture. In this striking early work, the rounded forms of Carmelina’s body, strongly modeled in light and dark, stand out almost in relief against the pattern of rectangular shapes behind her. The subject of the nude, usually relaxed and seductive, here becomes a confrontation between the boldly posed model and the artist, who is visible in the mirror at the back of the studio. (http://art-matisse.com/1900_23.html)