The “Portrait of Lydia Delectorskaya”
by Henri Matisse is outlined by a somewhat thick black
line round the character of the portrait and a thinner outline separating the
colored shapes that make up the women. The face is also outlined but not around
colored shapes like the rest of the portrait. Colored shapes make up the
different parts of the head and body and give the painting an abstract look.
The colors used are unnatural and contrast from the background. The colors of
the women are cold with blues and greens while the background is warm as a red-orange
color. The large yellow-green of the face adds dominance to the painting as it
is the only bright color in the painting and, in the center of the painting,
stands out and catches the eye. The use of black lines through out the piece
allows the colored shapes to stand out. There is also a line created in the
center of the painting by the contrasting change of the two greens of the hair
followed down to the contrast of the yellow-green and blue colored shape on the
face and followed down more to the black outline of the neck. This creates a
split in the painting leading the eye down and round the painting following the
other bold black lines.
