Woman with an Exotic Plant c. 1925

Henri Matisse made "Woman with an Exotic Plant" with pastel on paper, and you can see him building up the image with short, choppy strokes. This kind of mark-making feels very improvisational. The surface is really interesting: a warm, almost tan colour that acts like a ground for the other colours to play on. The pastels feel chalky and dry, which contrasts with the lushness of the scene: the patterns on the wall, the bright blue hem of the woman's dress, and of course that awesome plant. The way he renders the leaves is so simple, but they totally capture the plant's liveliness. It's like he's not trying to copy what he sees, but instead trying to capture the feeling of being in this vibrant space. Matisse returned to this sort of subject matter throughout his life – you might think of his later paper cut-outs, which have that same joyful simplicity. But here, you really feel the artist's hand at work.