Landscape with Olive Trees 1918

Henri Matisse laid down some oil paint to make this small landscape with olive trees sometime in his past. Look at how the paint handles, it’s like he’s thinking out loud on the canvas. I love the way he builds up the image with these chunky strokes, its almost sculptural. The cool blues and greens are grounded by flashes of warm yellow, it's like a conversation between colours. The olive trees on the left side, they’re not just trees, right? They become like figures, looming and present. Matisse lets the brush dance around, he’s not trying to trick you into thinking this *is* a landscape but he is showing you how painting *can be* a landscape, which is something else entirely. Matisse’s work makes me think of Bonnard, another painter who was obsessed with colour and light. Like them, we get to embrace the ambiguity and multiple meanings of painting.