Nude in Armchair and Foliage 1937

Henri Matisse created this painting, Nude in Armchair and Foliage, using oil paint on canvas. Looking closely, you can see that Matisse applied the paint in broad strokes, leaving areas of the canvas exposed. While painting is often seen as an individual artistic expression, the materials themselves connect to wider industries and labor practices. Canvas production, pigment creation, and brush manufacturing all rely on complex systems of production and distribution. Matisse's application of paint, with its visible brushstrokes, emphasizes the physical act of creation, but the materials are products of mass manufacture, reflective of wider social and economic forces. Understanding the relationship between artistic creation and industrial production allows us to see art not just as an individual expression, but as a reflection of its time.