1905 Portrait of Madame Matisse (Green Stripe) Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

The portrait presents a woman facing forward, her gaze directed towards the viewer with a directness that is both arresting and slightly unsettling. The composition is vertically oriented, emphasizing the subjects height and presence. Her features are rendered in a simplified, almost mask-like fashion; the nose is prominent, the lips thin and precisely defined, and the eyes possess an intensity heightened by their dark coloration.
The artist employed a bold palette of non-naturalistic colors. The face itself is divided into distinct planes of color: a warm orange-yellow dominates the right side, contrasting sharply with a cooler pink on the left. A vivid green stripe bisects the composition vertically, further fragmenting the subject’s visage and introducing an element of visual disruption. This chromatic division isnt merely decorative; it seems to suggest a duality within the sitter – perhaps a sense of inner conflict or a deliberate presentation of multiple facets of her personality.
The background is equally unconventional, consisting of broad swaths of turquoise and pink that lack any discernible spatial depth. The hair, rendered in dark blues and blacks, appears almost sculptural, its volume created through thick impasto application. A white collar with delicate floral detailing provides a small area of refinement against the otherwise assertive color scheme.
The painting’s subtexts revolve around the exploration of identity and representation. The deliberate distortion of features and the use of arbitrary colors challenge conventional notions of portraiture, moving away from realistic depiction towards an expressionistic rendering of character. The fragmented nature of the face suggests a breakdown of traditional ideals of beauty or perhaps a commentary on the constructedness of selfhood. The woman’s direct gaze implies a confrontation with the viewer, inviting introspection and questioning the dynamics of observation and being observed. Ultimately, the work appears to be less about capturing a likeness and more about conveying an emotional state or psychological complexity through formal artistic choices.