Autumn in Cagnes 1918

Henri Matisse painted Autumn in Cagnes with oils, making confident marks. The painting itself feels as though it has come into being through intuition and experimentation. I can just imagine Matisse standing before his easel, squinting at the landscape, trying to capture the essence of the season as the colors are shifting into cooler shades. There's a beautiful balance between representation and abstraction, a visual shorthand that only Matisse could achieve. The brushstrokes are broad and gestural, and the color palette is muted and earthy with yellows, greens and greys. The thick paint creates a palpable sense of texture, almost as if you could reach out and feel the wind rustling through the trees. There’s a real conversation going on across time here. Matisse builds on the works of his predecessors but at the same time moves the medium forward in a way that would inspire generations of artists to come. Ultimately, painting offers us a form of embodied expression, opening us up to multiple readings and interpretations.