The painting below is a combination of painted, inked and white-space-preserved swirls. Although I am reading about Matisse, I hesitate to call them arabesques, as they do not serve as regular, decorative designs. It seems more as if the swirls are performing. The parting curtain adds to this impression.
This study is related to yesterday’s Arabesque. Instead of amorphous swirls today, I used my dip pen to draw in the curly figures. I do like the definition of the lines in combination with the gradual variation of the colors in the background.
Matisse used patterns of swirls and vine-like curves in the paintings I’ve been reading about. At the moment I’m not clear about his use of these complex ornamentations, but my impression is that, like the late compositions of Paul Klee, the eye of the viewer isn’t given much of a resting place. Somehow (I have read), […]
