Monique in Gray Robe 1942

Henri Matisse painted 'Monique in Gray Robe', in his signature fauvist style of bold colours and simplified forms. I love how Matisse fearlessly used colour to evoke a sense of mood and space rather than to accurately represent reality. Just look at that cadmium orange outline of her robe, that anchors the figure. I am reminded of the way Matisse paints his patterned backgrounds and interiors, almost as characters in their own right. The figure seems almost swallowed up in the background, so the whole thing feels like a pattern. I can imagine Matisse, a bit of a rebel, playing with his subject matter, thinking how far can I go? How much can I flatten the space without losing the figure? Painters like Matisse inspire us to question the way we see the world, and the possibilities inherent in paint. Ultimately, the real subject becomes painting itself.