Interior in Yellow 1946

Henri Matisse made "Interior in Yellow" with oil on canvas, in Paris, and it’s full of the kind of playful colour choices that can make a painting sing. You can really get a sense of Matisse working through the painting, changing his mind and responding to the emerging image. Look at how the simple black lines define the objects, like the fruit and vase, but also how they flatten the space, pushing everything to the surface. There is a blue table in the foreground, and the yellow of the rest of the composition creates a warm, enveloping atmosphere. Check out the lemons on the plate – the brushstrokes are so immediate, so fresh, that you can almost feel the waxy texture of the fruit. Matisse often looked to other painters and cultures for inspiration. Thinking about someone like Gauguin, who flattened perspective and used bold color to express emotion, helps us understand the conversation Matisse was having with the history of painting. It’s like he's saying, "Let's not take painting too seriously, let's have some fun and see what happens."