The Fur Coat 1936

Henri Matisse made this painting, The Fur Coat, out of oil on canvas; a sensuous explosion of color. You see how he lays down these juicy strokes of red and brown? It’s like watching him build up the form right before your eyes. The way he works with color, it's like he's wrestling with the paint. Thick, thin, opaque, transparent, it's all there! Take a look at the red shapes in the center of the painting. Are they flowers? Emblems? Each brushstroke is so present, almost like you can feel the energy of his hand. The boldness in Matisse’s mark-making, he really owes a debt to Van Gogh; both artists invite us to enjoy the materiality of paint and to see art as an ongoing process of creative exploration. Ultimately, art is a conversation across time, and we're invited to bring our own experiences to the table.