Boudoir 1921

Matisse made this painting, Boudoir, with oils on canvas, and what grabs me first is the way he layers the paint so thinly, almost like watercolor washes. You can see the canvas texture coming through. It's all about capturing a mood, a fleeting moment. Look at the way he renders the figure in the chair; it's like a tangle of blue and black marks that somehow resolves into a person. And then there's that little zig-zag of pink on the floor, suggesting a patterned rug. Matisse isn’t trying to trick us into thinking this is real life; he’s showing us how he sees and feels the space. This feels connected to the work of someone like Bonnard, in the way the domestic space becomes a site of emotional and painterly exploration. Art’s like a conversation, right? Each artist riffing off the last, exploring the endless possibilities of paint.