Minneapolis Institute of Art

Woman with Still Life

Henri Matisse

Date

1944

Medium

Pen and black ink

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

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. France, Europe

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