Head of Lorette 1917

Henri Matisse made this painting, Head of Lorette, with oil on canvas, and you can just imagine the brushstrokes layering up to create this face. I see these broad strokes of fleshy pinks, ochres, and blacks. I wonder what it was like for Matisse, working and reworking the surface, trying to capture something of the model's essence. He was probably thinking hard about how to create a likeness, but also just letting the paint do its thing. There is so much raw, expressive brushwork. The way he defines the contours of the face with these bold, dark strokes reminds me of some of his later paper cut-outs, where he reduced forms to their essential shapes. I like the contrast between the dark hair and the pale skin, and how he uses little dabs of red to suggest the lips and cheeks. Matisse was always looking at the work of other painters, thinking about color, and line, and form, and he had such an influence on so many artists. That’s how artists keep things moving, like an ongoing conversation through time. I love how painting can be so direct, and yet so open to interpretation.