I love the colorful, graphic pattern of Matisse's take on the Odalisque theme. Henri Matisse Odalisque in Red Trousers, c.1924-1925 Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris © Photo RMN © Henri Matisse, c.1924-25/Succession H. Matisse. Licensed by VISCOPY, Sydney 2001 Matisse's ‘odalisques’ display the artist's passion for decorative pattern and motifs. The artist visited the French colonies in North Africa (Algeria in 1906 and Morocco in 1912–13) where the brilliant light, exotic environment and Moorish architecture inspired a new body of work. His odalisques have been described by art historian Roger Benjamin as ‘elaborate fictions’ in which the artist re-created the image of the Islamic harem using French models posed in his Nice apartment. The fabrics, screens, carpets, furnishings and costuming recalled the exoticism of the ‘Orient’ and provided a theme for Matisse's preoccupation with the figure and elaborate pattern. (quoted source: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/orangerie/matisseimage.html)