In 1920, Matisse met a nineteen-year-old girl who for more than seven years would be his model and inform the spirit of many works of his Nice period. Henriette Darricarrère was studying ballet. Matisse was no doubt drawn not only by her looks, her well-sculpted, strong form, but also by her artistry: she could easily transform herself into an odalisque, a Spanish lady, a violinist, or a pianist, as well as a dancer. Ballerina is remarkable for its simplicity of colour scheme and compositional balance. The background is almost abstract: four horizontal bands of different colour accentuating the figure. One cannot even tell what Henriette was sitting on. The wall and the straps of her costume are the same colour, while the ballerina's stockings and the floor are also close in hue.