The motif of the Odalisque, through which Matisse reconnects to Orientalist literature beloved by 19th century French painters (from Delacroix to Ingres), was the most present in the master's work during his first years in Nice, starting in 1917; and was perhaps inspired by the Mediterranean air and a glimpse southward to a more exotic world. Orientalist fashion was reinvigorated by the famous Nationale Coloniale Exposition in Marseilles in 1922, which saw many authors seduced by the allure of important traditions from southern countries like Algeria and Morocco, and led to a trend of inspired home furnishings and fashion. Portrayed in the background of his studio in Place Charles Félix, where Matisse enjoyed moving armchairs and carpets to create different sets for each painting, the model Henriette Darricarrière basks in the warm light filtering through the shutters and flooding the room like a Bedouin tent. The Odalisque gently leaning against the windowsill poses in silence and cites, in the synthesis of the lines of her body and the already abstract shape of her form, a play of references that profoundly links Matisse’s pictorial and sculptural research.