Henri Matisse lived at the villa Le Reve in Vence from 1943 to1948. Here he created a sensuous world, bringing to Vence all the objects without which he could not draw and paint - jugs, vases, tables and chairs, shells, fabrics. A young Russian-born photographer, Helene Adant, often came to visit her cousin Lydia Delectorskaya, who was Matisse"s model and assistant from 1935 onward. Adant"s photographs are a unique record, a series of freeze-frames that reveal the nature of Matisse"s preparation for his art: perhaps an ornate Venetian chair partners a wrought-iron table displaying a yellow pitcher and melons; a pot of lilies or an octagonal Moroccan table are added. Matisse, hat on head, draws his Haitian model wearing a frilled blouse that Lydia has provided for the sitting.