Yellow Dress with Black Ribbon (La robe jaune au ruban noir) 1922

Henri Matisse made this drawing of a seated woman in a yellow dress, complete with a black ribbon, using lithographic crayon. It must have been quite something to stand before the blank sheet, feeling the pressure of the crayon in your hand, just like Matisse. I can imagine him, pencil in hand, moving slowly, mapping out the territory of the page. Then, with a deepening confidence, he begins to sketch out forms: the frilly details of the dress, the flowers, and that thick ribbon. Look at the lines, how they dance across the page with such fluidity! The woman’s gaze is serene, almost as if she knows how beautifully she’s being captured. You can almost feel the fabric of the dress. I feel like Matisse is still present in the drawing, quietly whispering about line, form, and beauty. It reminds us that art is an ongoing dialogue, each stroke of the pencil echoing through time.