Untitled 

Henri Matisse painted this untitled landscape with oil on canvas in 1898. You can see the way the brushstrokes sit on the canvas, thick and full of body, defining the forms with a real sculptural presence. Matisse was a master of color, but here he’s really focused on mass and volume, the weight of the architecture. Look how the ochre hues of the walls contrast with the blue sky, creating a sense of depth and atmosphere. The way he has built up the paint suggests a kind of labor, not so different from the actual construction work that built this scene. This was painted relatively early in Matisse's career, before he became one of the recognized masters of modern art. So remember, even an artwork that seems like a straightforward depiction of a place can also be understood through the artist's working methods, and their historical context.