Seville Still Life 1911

Henri Matisse made this painting, Seville Still Life, with oil on canvas, and you can tell he’s really having a conversation with colour. Look at how the pink of the wall sets off the greens and blues of the furniture! It’s not about making a perfect picture, it’s about how the colours vibrate against each other, right? I bet he was thinking about how to make a space that felt alive, not just look like a room. Imagine him, stepping back, squinting, adding a dab of orange here, a stripe of blue there, pushing and pulling until it all sings. I especially love the tablecloth, with its squiggles and curls. It’s like he’s saying, "Hey, life isn't neat and tidy, it's a riot of shapes and patterns." You can see that Matisse has looked at a lot of other artists and pushed the conversation forward. I feel like his art is telling me that uncertainty is okay, and that sometimes, the best things come from not knowing exactly what you're doing.