Domino Players 1921

Henri Matisse made "Domino Players" with a brush and paint; you can see how he lays down the colour with complete confidence in this painting. There's something so great about the way Matisse handles colour, almost like he’s not even thinking about it. Look at how thin the paint is, especially in the background. It's like watercolor, but with the structure of oil. The way he layers those colors, the pink and orange underneath, gives it a real buzz. Then you have those solid blocks of blue for the dress. The brushstrokes feel so immediate, like he's just letting the paint do its thing. And that little table with the dominoes? It is so casually rendered, yet it holds the whole scene together. Matisse reminds me of Bonnard; both artists share that same loose handling of paint and the way they capture light and atmosphere. For both artists, painting feels like a form of exploration.