Monsieur Loyal Possibly 1947

This is Monsieur Loyal, a paper cut-out by Henri Matisse. The process here is all about subtraction: taking away the negative space to create a figure, a kind of ghostly silhouette. I love how the flatness of the blue is punctuated by these perfectly round yellow dots – almost like they're holding the form of this figure in place. Your eye bounces between these simple shapes, and the solid mass of white on the left. It’s bold, but also kind of fragile, like it could all just float away. You see a similar distillation of form in the work of someone like Ellsworth Kelly, though Matisse brings this playful, almost childlike approach to his mark-making. It’s not precious, it feels immediate, and that’s what gets me every time. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art doesn't always need to be complicated to be profound, right?