Woman with Still Life

Henri Matisse once told his students, “One must always search for the desire of the line, where it wishes to enter or where to die away.” The very spare outline technique typical of his ink drawings is much in evidence in Woman with Still Life, whose lines are fluent but, despite the seemingly simple subject matter, not facile. In Matisse’s mind these lines were conscious, probing, and full of intent. Their quavering quality seems to invite us in, guiding us to retrace the artist’s encounter with his subject.