Two Girls 1941

Henri Matisse made "Two Girls" with oil on canvas. I'm drawn to the way Matisse constructs space and form using color, so that the red background seems to push forward, flattening the composition. Look closely at the way he renders the plaid skirt, those loose, gestural strokes of red, green, and blue feel so carefree and spontaneous. The yellow is a bit acidic. It's as if Matisse is inviting us to witness his decision-making process, to see the painting not as a representation of reality, but as an artifact of its own making. The faces in the images hung on the wall are given equal visual weight as the women, the planes of their faces reduced to mere marks. We could compare Matisse to Gauguin. Both artists demonstrate that art is not about imitation but about invention, a conversation between the artist and the world, mediated by the act of painting itself.