Odalisque, Blue Harmony 1937

Henri Matisse made this painting, Odalisque, Blue Harmony, using oil on canvas, the specifics of which must have informed his way of seeing. Look at how those cool blues and greens get zinged by the reds, oranges, and whites of the blooms on the table. I can just see Matisse shifting things around, trying it this way, then that, searching for the right balance. What about a slash of orange here? What if I put a lemon there? He's working it out, but he’s also kind of hanging out. I love how the stripes in the background bump right up against the curves of the flowers and the woman. And it looks like he might have mixed some sand or grit into the paint, giving it a bit of texture, a little tooth. He’s in conversation with artists like Manet or even Delacroix, but doing his own thing, pushing the boundaries, showing us how a painting can be a place where color and form collide, creating something new and totally vibrant.