The Green Line 1905

Henri Matisse probably painted this portrait on canvas with oil paints pretty quickly, going by the look of the thing, maybe in one sitting. I can imagine Matisse daubing the surface with these bright colors, the orange and pink, the green, creating a likeness of the sitter as well as a kind of optical event. The green line itself is so economical but says so much. It divides the face and casts the whole composition in a strange light. What was he thinking when he made this? Was it a game, a dare, or a serious attempt at portraiture? The physicality of the medium is apparent in the thick brushstrokes that form the face and clothing. You can see how he’s built up the image with layers of paint, pushing and pulling until it takes on a life of its own. Painters are always in conversation with one another. Matisse takes cues from the impressionists, and then gives them to painters today. And it is this exchange of ideas that keeps the whole thing alive.