Odalisque with Red Pants ; 1921 ; Henri Matisse
First introduced to Matisse's work and this exact painting while studying one of my favorite novels, Sherazade by Leïla Sebbar, in college, any mention of this piece or its artist instantly transports me backwards in time, to a time when I did not fear, to time when the world seemed so big and so wondrous, to a time when the pores and channels of my mental sponge soaked up every drop of intellectual thought without discrimination...
As the years have passed, and after numerous re-readings of Sherazade, I can't help but still associate this painting with the novel's main character. Although I regret nothing, because the novel's views of other worlds and other cultures have helped shape my world perspective (as well as the main character remaining one of my favorite studies--academically and sentimentally), I will forever be cross-textually contaminated while viewing this work, so I often wonder if this painting would hold value to me if I were never introduced to Sebbar's novel...other times, I simply don't care at all and dare to enjoy them both.
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