Circé 1934

Here is Henri Matisse’s drawing, Circé. It's all about bodies, but bodies as volumes, as shapes, not as people. I love the way he uses a soft, smudgy graphite to create these sensuous forms. See how the shading gives weight and dimension to the limbs? It's like he's sculpting with light and shadow. Check out the way the lines are not definitive but blurred, leaving you guessing, like a half-remembered dream. The overlapping creates a sense of depth and mystery, inviting you to get lost in the sea of bodies. It reminds me of Picasso's drawings but softer. The whole thing is just so tactile. What I love about Matisse, is this ongoing conversation with the female form, not as a symbol, but as an ever shifting form.