Odalisque Au Coffret Rouge 1927

Henri Matisse made this painting, Odalisque Au Coffret Rouge, using oil on canvas. Look at the way he approaches the stripes in the background – they’re not perfect, they waver, which shows an understanding that art is a process, not just a product. There's a real emphasis on the material quality of the paint here. It's not about hiding the brushstrokes or creating a smooth illusion. You can see how the paint is applied, thick in some areas, thin in others. In her blue skirt, the strokes curve and fold in such a way as to really emphasize the volume of the form. It's as if the paint itself is shaping the skirt, which becomes a visual metaphor for the way we mold and shape our own lives. Matisse reminds me a little of Morandi, in the sense that they both suggest art as an ongoing dialogue of ideas across time. These paintings embrace ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed meanings.