Marie Max 1927

Raoul Dufy made this portrait of Marie Max with watercolour. Look at the way the colour has been put down in very loose, intuitive marks. It's all about trusting your hand and letting the medium do its thing. For me, the beauty of watercolour lies in its unpredictable nature. The paint is so thin, it seems like he’s barely touched the surface, yet the colour gives a real sense of form to the sitter. Look at the confident blue strokes that define her hair or the red of the flowers on her coat! It's not really about representation, it's like Dufy is dancing with the paint. This reminds me a little of someone like Matisse, who had a similar eye for simple, evocative forms. It’s not so much about what you see, but how you see it. And in Dufy’s world, seeing is all about colour, light, and the sheer joy of painting.