Gray Nude with Bracelet 1914

Matisse made this grey nude with a bracelet out of oil paint, probably sometime in the first half of the 20th century. What I notice first is how he’s handled the paint in layers, kind of scrubbed on, like he’s wiping the canvas rather than caressing it. The paint is thin, washy, and dry, built up in layers of muted tones. The figure has a solid feel, yet there’s something unresolved in the execution, as though Matisse is more interested in the process of seeing than in the end result. Look at the way he’s suggested the form of the chair, a few dark lines and some smeared highlights. The whole painting has that attitude, searching, open ended. He was in dialogue with Cézanne, and you see it in the way he reduces everything to planes. It's not about getting it right, it's about the ongoing conversation of art.