Beside the Window 1921

Henri Matisse made 'Beside the Window' with oil on canvas and what strikes me is his commitment to the painting as a process, a journey really. Look at that window, how it flattens the space, pushing the sea right up against the woman. The way Matisse builds up the surface is fascinating. The paint isn't too thick, but there's a visible layering, like he's figuring it out as he goes. You can almost see the ghost of earlier decisions beneath the final marks. Notice how the blues of the sea meet the ochre of the beach, that contrast is everything. There’s something so immediate about the way he captures light and shadow, especially in the folds of the curtain, it’s almost like he’s painting pure sensation. Matisse reminds me of Bonnard, in the way they both used colour to create feeling, like a visual form of synesthesia. Art's about conversations, right? Each artist builds on what came before, pushing the boundaries of what paint can do. For Matisse, I think, it was all about capturing that fleeting moment, that feeling of being alive in the world.