Dix Danseuses II 1925 - 1926

Here is a drawing of a dancer by Henri Matisse. I can imagine him now with a stick of charcoal, moving back and forth to capture the essence of the dancer in front of him. There’s a lovely lightness to this work. A kind of sympathy for the young dancer, perched on a stool in her tutu and ballet shoes. What was she thinking as she posed? Was she tired? Bored? Daydreaming of her next performance? Matisse has rendered her with great sensitivity, leaving many areas of the paper untouched and others densely worked in charcoal, like the shadow around her legs. I love the way he suggests the folds of the tutu without defining them too closely. Matisse made many drawings and paintings of dancers throughout his career, often returning to the same subject matter. Each work a kind of conversation with the others. Like two dancers, artists inspire one another across time.