The Reflection 1935

Henri Matisse, what were you thinking when you painted this mysterious vision of a woman and her reflection? The way the striped lines of her robe bend and curve, with the barest hint of green and red around her, leads me to believe Matisse made this with oil paints. I can almost see him, hunched over, the smell of linseed and spirits in the air, carefully but hastily capturing her form. There is a sense of deep looking here, as if the artist is trying to grasp the essence of the sitter as she gazes back at herself, forever caught in the moment of self-reflection. It is like he tries to evoke something universal through the repetition of lines and curves, as if to echo the cyclical nature of existence. Painters are in conversation with one another, and it feels like Matisse is speaking to us today as we wrestle with the same questions about what painting is and what it can do.