The Green Blouse 1936

Henri Matisse made The Green Blouse, with oil on canvas, but when I look at the surface I see so much more than just paint. The colors are so luminous, that it almost looks like stained glass. What stands out for me is the way Matisse lays down color like building blocks, he works to build a sense of volume and depth through color alone. Take, for example, the sleeve of the blouse resting on the chair back, that emerald green, like the flash of a hummingbird, sits right next to a murky brown, somehow creating a sense of depth and form. Matisse’s bold use of color and simplified forms reminds me of later painters like Milton Avery, both artists were masters of creating emotional resonance through color and abstraction. For both artists, the painting's meaning isn't fixed but emerges from the interplay of color, form, and feeling.