INTRODUCTION Matisse's “Blouse Roumaine” By painting “La Blouse Roumaine” Henri Matisse gave it artistic perenity and International recognition. Indeed the painting, which is now in the Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris, had become an icon of Romanianness and in particular of Romanian feminity. But WHY a Romanian blouse at all? Was the artist’s choice fortuitous? One may well ask, as the painter was best known for his models being clad in Moroccan or Parisian attire, rather then in Romanian ethnic dress or better still, not clad at all… So, why a Romanian Blouse, out of the blue? Looking at some of Matisses’s earlier works one could discern the idea in the blouse of the 1939 dancer “Une danseuse en repos”, showing a seated woman wearing a Romanian blouse. Likewise, another of Matisse’s paintings, “Still Life with sleeping woman” , now in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC . The sitter is a woman wearing an embroidered long-sleeve blouse, decorated on the upper part of the sleeve similarly to the Romanian blouses. An even earlier version, with prevailing greens appears in 1937. So, from these and other examples, one could suggest unequivocally, that the idea was not new in the artist’s mind. However, what was new on this occasion, in 1940, was that the ROMANIAN BLOUSE had become central to the subject, forcing it on ‘front stage’ and giving it a specific, named identity. The canvass must have been discussed, if not prompted by the visit of an old friend the Romanian painter Theodor Pallady (1871-1956), whose portrait was sketched by Matisse, in Nice, in 1940 (see John Klein, “Matisse Portraits”, pp137). The firendhip between Matisse and the Romanian Pallady went back to their time together at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris (1891-1900). Throughout their long correspondence a close affinity developed between the French and the Romanian painter. Quite apart from the closeness in style and demeanour, the two friends shared a great many complicities, amongst which the image of Romanian muses, much in view in 20th century France, was a recurring subject. In his correspondence, Matisse would accompany his letters by sketches and would use Pallady as a sounding board, sometimes talking about his artistic and personal anxieties. In this context, the theme of the Romanian Blouse becomes more significant. It was painted in 1940, during one of the darkest periods of the war, which the country had experienced under Nazi occupation. Matisse was soon going to abandon Nice, which was being bombed by German planes, for the relative security of the ‘arriere-pays’, in Vence. Reading some of the artist’s diaries of that period one could detect that the cheerfulness of the ‘Romanian Blouse” was acting like an antidote, as it represented a glimmer of optimism and of hope. What does the artist say? Le rêve (1940) “De nouveau la guerre. Il y a ici un tel cafard, une angoisse générale qui vient de tout ce qui se dit et répète sur la prochaine occupation de Nice que j'en suis très affecté par contagion et que mon travail est particulièrement difficile. Heureusement je viens de finir presque un tableau commencé il y a un an et que j'ai mené à l'aventure -en somme chacun de mes tableaux est une aventure. D'abord très réaliste, une belle brune dormant sur ma table de marbre au milieu de fruits, est devenue un ange qui dort sur une surface violette -le plus beau violet que j'aie vu, -ses chairs sont de rose de fleur pulpeuse et chaude -et le corsage de sa robe a été remplacé par une blouse roumaine ancienne, d'un bleu pervenche pâle très très doux, une blouse de broderie au petit point vieux rouge qui a dû appartenir à une princesse, avec une jupe d'abord vert émeraude et maintenant d'un noir de jais. Que tu es belle, ma messagère au bois dormant! tes yeux sont des colombes derrière leurs paupières. Et elle rêve d'un prince français prisonnier d'antan dont j'ai lu et relu les poèmes pour en faire un choix. Je me suis toujours méfié de la littérature, mais je ne l'ai pas seulement illustrée, je l'ai soigneusement, amoureusement recopiée, et l'on en trouve l'émerveillement dans mes thèmes.” - (Cantique de Matisse) Dream, 1940 “The war, again. We live such dark thoughts, such general anguish, which is fueled by anything which is being said and repeated about the imminent occupation of Nice. This rather affects me adversely and I find it difficult to work. Fortunately I just about finished a painting which I started a year ago and which was quite an adventure, in fact each of my paintings represent an adventure. Above all, very realistic, a beautiful woman with dark hair, who was asleep on my marble table, amongst the fruit. She had metamorphosed into an angel sleeping on this violet surface – the most beautiful violet colour which I had ever seen – her pink flesh of bulbous hot flowers ; her corsage had been replaced by a Romanian blouse, of ancient design, of a pale, very soft blue, a blouse embroidered with old ochre stitches, which must have belonged to a princesse, with an emerald skirt which now was of a black jade. How wonderful you ar,e my sleeping beauty of a messanger – your eyes so like doves behind their closed eyelids. And she dreams of a French prisoner of yore, whose poems I read and reread in order to set my choice. I was always reticent about literarture, but now, not only have I illustrated it, here I have lovingly recopied it, so that you could marvel in my theme.” - (Cantique de Matisse) ... Continued on Page 02. .