Woman in Profile (Turned to the Left) 1935

Henri Matisse made this drawing of a woman in profile with light pencil strokes, sometime in the 1930s. What's cool about a line drawing like this is that the character of the line becomes so important! Here, the woman’s profile emerges from a single, almost unbroken contour. You can see how Matisse felt out the shape of her nose, chin, and forehead, each mark sensitive to its subject. I love the way that just a few lines, lightly and freely sketched, can evoke so much about the figure – a sense of classical beauty, of calm and poise. You get the sense that for Matisse, drawing was not about rendering every detail, but capturing the essence of his subject. A single line can communicate so much – feeling, intention, meaning. The more you look, the more you see. It reminds me to keep my own lines playful and open.