Seated Woman with a Vase of Amaryllis 1941

Henri Matisse made this painting of a seated woman with amaryllis sometime during his long career using bright, expressive colours and bold patterns. I can imagine him, brush in hand, circling around the canvas, trying out one colour, then another. The black outlines, like confident strokes of a marker, make me think he was unafraid to make decisive moves. Look at the yellow dress, almost glowing, adorned with little black floral shapes, or the red and white amaryllis flowers against the lively green and yellow wallpaper! It’s a party of patterns, colours and pure joy. The face, though, is a little somber. I wonder if she’s thinking, like Matisse, about Bonnard, about Picasso, about all the other artists who were also trying to capture a little piece of life on canvas. Artists are always in conversation, you know, across time and space. Each brushstroke is like a little thought, a little feeling, a contribution to this never-ending dialogue.