Interior with a Violin 1918

Henri Matisse made ‘Interior with a Violin’ with oil paints, and I bet his process was pure, unadulterated experimentation! Look at the boldness of that black, and the electric blue of the violin case! Imagine Matisse, brush in hand, layering, scraping, trying to capture the essence of a room, not just its appearance. I feel like he's saying "What does it mean to be 'in' this room right now?" The way he places that bright window against the dark interior reminds me of Rothko’s blocks of color, or maybe even some Diebenkorn interiors. Painters are always talking to each other, stealing each other’s ideas and pushing them further, and I like to think Matisse knew that too. This piece isn’t just a still life; it's a conversation with space, form, and emotion. The physicality of the paint, those decisive strokes, make you feel like you're in the room with him. It is an invitation to feel the room's darkness and the brightness of the world outside. It's less about certainty and more about possibilities.