Countryside at Collioure 1905

Henri Matisse made "Countryside at Collioure" with paint and canvas, and you can really see that he was feeling out his way. It's like watching someone think out loud, isn't it? Looking closely, you see how the paint is laid down in these juicy, separate strokes. It's not about hiding the process, but making the process the whole point. The paint is fairly thick, not too fussy. I love that looseness. It gives the painting this direct, emotional charge. Take a look at the bottom, at those blues and purples. You could say they're flowers, but they're just kind of *there*, blobs of colour, buzzing with a kind of energy. Matisse reminds me a little of Bonnard, both of them finding the extraordinary in the everyday, though Bonnard is maybe a bit more shy about it. And, like, who cares if it's *really* a landscape? It's a sensation.