Spanish Woman with a Tamborine 1909

Henri Matisse painted this Spanish Woman with a Tambourine sometime in his long life. The blues and reds have a real vibrancy – like the Mediterranean. I bet Matisse had fun making this painting. It's interesting how the artist has used blocks of colour to define the woman. See how the red skirt is so full, and her shoulders seem to merge into the black jacket. I can imagine him, brush in hand, carefully laying down each stroke of paint, trying to capture the essence of his subject. I love that the painting is only ‘Spanish’ because of the Tambourine. Look how her yellow hand sits on her red skirt! She feels strong, right? It reminds me of Gauguin and his bold colors. These guys were really looking hard, but not to copy things. It’s more like they’re asking, what is painting for? I feel like artists are always in conversation with each other, across time. Painting is an ongoing experiment, each artist building on the discoveries of those who came before. It's full of ambiguity and uncertainty, and that’s what makes it so exciting.