The Closed Window 1919

Henri Matisse made this painting, called "The Closed Window," with oil on canvas. I can almost feel his movements as he laid down those blocks of blues, greens, and reds. It feels like the painting came into being through shifts and adjustments, like he was thinking through color. Imagine Matisse standing there, brush in hand, trying to capture the light filtering through the curtains. Maybe he was thinking about how to make the ordinary feel extraordinary, about the tension between what's inside and what's outside. Look how he uses these thick strokes of color to build up the image, the curtains and the carpet almost become one. And how that red draws your eye in, making you feel like you're right there in the room with him. For me, there is something about the surface that evokes so many feelings. Matisse was always in dialogue with other artists, like Bonnard. It's like they were all bouncing ideas off each other, figuring out new ways to see the world through painting. Each stroke feels like a part of this conversation, an ongoing exploration of what painting can do.