Textures and Techniques in Painting

Write a short essay comparing the two paintings below in the depiction of textures and their use of painting techniques to create contours, textures and details.  This essay should be approximately 200 words long.  Make sure you stay focused on the given topic, theme and issue that is the basis for your comparison.  Also make sure that you discuss both artworks equally and that you make sure you organize your comparison in a clear, orderly, coherent way with about time given to each artwork.  Do not discuss the two separately without comparing them.  Also make syre that you refer to them clearly in your essay.  Do not refer to them as #1 and #2, left and right, etc. because this gets confusing for the professor and the students.  Instead, mention their titles at the start and a few times later as you continue with one artwork or switch from one to another. Johannes Vermeer, A Woman Holding a Scale, c. 1660, oil on canvas Henri Matisse, Harmony in Red (The Dessert(, 1908-1909, oil on canvas