Still Life with Vegetables 1905

Henri Matisse created this still life of vegetables with oil on canvas, and it feels like a joyful dance of colours. Look at those expressive brushstrokes, full of light and energy! I can almost feel Matisse in front of his subject, moving between perception and intuition. There’s a real conversation happening here; the red and green and yellows are laid down with a sense of immediacy and joy. The paint is applied in thin layers, allowing the white of the canvas to shine through. Take for instance the confident sweep of green which brings the arrangement together! Matisse, like all of us painters, learned from others. He made something totally his own. He's teaching us that painting is about feeling, more than seeing, it is about openness, the willingness to explore, and the embrace of the unexpected.