Algerian Woman 1909

Henri Matisse made "Algerian Woman" with oil on canvas, and you can see it at the Pompidou in Paris. Just look at the pink and blue, the red and the black. I bet Matisse was really in the zone when he made this! He doesn't just paint what he sees; he's feeling it, trying it out, almost like sculpting with color. The paint looks like it's been layered on, rubbed off, then layered again—each mark a little discovery. I wonder what he was thinking when he put those streaks of pink on her robe? Did he want to make the light bounce, or was he just playing? I see him as part of this amazing club of painters, all talking to each other across time, using colors and shapes to share what it feels like to be alive, and to feel deeply. Painting is like keeping a diary, but instead of words, you use colors, marks, and maybe a little bit of magic.