Portrait of Sarah Stein 1916

Henri Matisse captured Sarah Stein in oil on canvas with bold simplicity. Looking at this painting, I think about how Sarah Stein must have sat for Matisse, maybe a bit awkward under his gaze. What was she thinking about while she was being painted? The shadows on her face are so interesting, and the background—the surrounding blue—almost comes forward. See how the color does that? Matisse wasn't trying to just copy what he saw; instead, he chose to emphasize the forms and shapes that most struck him. I wonder if he was looking at work by Cezanne at the time? It’s like he's using color to create a feeling, or an echo of a person. It reminds me that painting is about seeing and feeling, more than just representing. Artists are always responding to one another across time, it’s one big conversation that we are all invited to join.