Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Catherine C. Bock, Henri Matisse's "Bathers by a River", Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1, Aspects of Modern Art at the Art Institute: The Artist, The Patron, The Public (1990), pp. 44-55+92-93
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Catherine C. Bock (1990) studied this question.