Nude Wearing Red Shoes 1907

Henri Matisse made this painting, Nude Wearing Red Shoes, using oil on canvas. The dominant colour palette features deep greens and blues, with the flash of red on the shoes. I love how it looks like the painting came into being shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I like to think about the scene, the model, the studio, and Matisse himself. What might he have been thinking as he was creating the painting? It looks like he has built up the image in layers, adding depth and texture to the figure and background. The paint looks thin, allowing the canvas to be seen in parts. Notice the marks around the model’s outline. These marks communicate feeling and intention. I get a sense of the artist at work, grappling with how to make a figure appear on a flat surface. It’s as if Matisse is having a conversation with other painters across time, playing with their ideas, and adding his own unique vision. Isn’t painting great? It’s a form of expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.