Woman with Blue Bodice 1935

Henri Matisse painted "Woman with Blue Bodice" with oil on cardboard, and right away, I’m struck by how his brushstrokes just dance across the surface, laying down colors like little building blocks. The paint has this cool, matte texture, and you can almost feel the give and take of each stroke, like he's figuring out the shapes and volumes as he goes. I love how the pink of her skin meets the red of the chair, creating this vibration of color and form. Check out the chair! It's not quite red, not quite yellow. It’s that kind of wobbly uncertainty which makes the piece so alive. Matisse's use of color reminds me a bit of the Fauves, how they played with bold hues and simplified forms. It all feels so intuitive, like he’s letting the painting find its own way.