Sculpture and Persian Vase 1908

Henri Matisse made Sculpture and Persian Vase with oil paint and canvas at an unknown date. The dark starry sky peers in through a window, and the figure seems to be bathed in the intense light of the south of France. I can imagine Matisse mixing those yellows and reds on his palette – the brushstrokes are so intuitive, like he's feeling his way around the objects, making them up as he goes. The paint is applied thickly in some areas, but thinned out in others, creating a kind of shimmering effect. I can relate to that process – you put down one mark and then another in response, and the painting starts to build up, layer by layer. The vase feels solid and present but the flowers are a decorative pattern. The painting speaks to that conversation between abstraction and representation, flatness and depth. That combination of expressive brushwork and careful observation reminds me of Cézanne, like he’s trying to capture the essence of a thing, rather than just its outward appearance. Like all artists, Matisse was in conversation with his predecessors, playing with their ideas and pushing them in new directions.