For Matisse prehistoric art was a major influence in the early twentieth century. He looked for alternative sources for artistic inspiration and found one in the simple shapes of works like this Paleolithic figure. The prehistoric influence in Matisse's Madeline I can be seen in her swelling breasts and hips, which in the Paleolithic figure are generally thought to refer to fertility and spiritual nourishment. Like the Paleolithic artist before him, Matisse also abstracts and distorts those attributes of her body that are not specifically female. Her face is a blank and her hands and feet are blunted stubs. Matisse's sculpture is an abstracted ideal of a woman, modeled in broad and exaggerated curves.