Woman at the Piano 1924

Here is the script: Henri Matisse made "Woman at the Piano" with oil on canvas, and the whole thing hums with a kind of domestic energy, doesn't it? I love how the red patterned background almost vibrates, pushing forward against the cool blues of the woman’s dress. You can feel the painting coming into being through Matisse's short, deliberate strokes. I wonder what it was like to stand where he did, brush in hand, trying to capture a fleeting moment of everyday life, the woman's concentration as she played. Notice how the thick daubs of green and blue above the piano seem to mimic the untamed energy of the music itself. It's like he’s thinking about Cezanne and also pushing past him. The way Matisse lays down the paint, thick in some places, almost raw canvas in others, gives the painting a real sense of immediacy. Painting is always a conversation, you know? Matisse is riffing on what came before, while also improvising his own unique melody. And now, we get to listen in.