Algue rouge sur fond bleu ciel 1952

Henri Matisse made this gouache painting, Algue rouge sur fond bleu ciel, at some point in his later life. You know, it’s funny, it’s just two colours, and a pretty simple shape, but it has such an impact. It kind of knocks you sideways, right? I mean, the way the red pops right out from the light blue, it’s a total power move. The texture of the blue makes you think he’s moved the gouache around a lot, maybe with a cloth? You can feel him thinking and rethinking with the painting. It’s a really light touch, but it says so much. Like look at the base of that red shape, how it comes to a little point. It’s so precise, but also so playful. You can really see the influence of his earlier Fauvist paintings here, even though he’s just using one form. It reminds me of the later work of another great artist, Etel Adnan. There's a sense in both that the older they got, the more they realised that less really is more.