Odalisques 1928

Here's 'Odalisques' by Henri Matisse. It seems to me that Matisse was painting his way through a visual puzzle here, using oil on canvas. Look at the electric cool blues played against the warmth of the orange background. The tension between representation and abstraction is palpable, isn’t it? I can imagine Matisse really grappling with the push and pull of colour and form as he worked, layering the paint, scraping it back, and re-working passages until they hummed with the right kind of energy. Like, how do you make a painting where the background feels as alive as the foreground? The checkered board has an almost sculptural presence, rendered with thick, confident strokes of black and white. Painters are always in conversation with each other across time. Matisse probably looked at Delacroix, and of course, lots of painters after him have looked at Matisse. Each generation learns and borrows and then messes things up in their own way, creating something new and unexpected. Painting at its best is an embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and welcoming multiple interpretations.