Lydia, who came from Siberia, had long golden hair, blue eyes, white skin and finely cut features: the looks of an ice princess, as Matisse said himself. Born in 1910, the only child of a doctor ...

In a personal account now in the Matisse Archives in France, the artist’s assistant, Lydia Delectorskaya, related that one summer morning Matisse said that he “wanted to see divers.” ...

10. Henri Matisse Became Very Close With His Assistant Henri Matisse met Lydia Delectorskaya in 1932 when he offered her a ...