Henriette as an Odalisque 1922

Henri Matisse made this drawing of Henriette as an Odalisque with flowing lines that capture the intimacy of the scene. Imagine him with his charcoal, moving it across the paper, lost in the observation of form. The texture created by the charcoal gives the drawing a tactile quality, almost as if you could feel the softness of the cushions and the warmth of the model’s skin. I can see Matisse thinking about the way light plays across the body, using subtle shading to create depth and volume. There’s a tension between the precision of the lines and the fluidity of the composition. Matisse was so good at creating these open forms. The negative space becomes as important as the subject itself. I think all artists are constantly in conversation, building upon what came before. I always look to other paintings for inspiration, to see how they wrestled with similar challenges.