Author: Larissa Dätwyler

Just as external light is reflected on the surface of enamel until it becomes a blinding highlight, so too does the beholder’s retrospective view of the painting’s production. The insights into the painting process that pentimenti and other phenomena of reworking seem to provide are put to the test and prevented from entirely penetrating Matisse’s procedure. So, my argument is that the very insight we acquire from paintings like Nasturtiums (II) is an acknowledgment of the limits of interpretation. Such paintings help us to understand the challenges and the responsibility of interpreting art.