One of the great pioneering masters of 20th-century art, Henri Matisse was a versatile and productive artist, tackling artistic media throughout his
life from painting and drawing to sculpture and graphics.
Born in 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, northern France, Matisse studied law in Paris and worked as a court administrator for a while in his native town.
He started painting in 1889 almost by accident after his mother bought him some art supplies as a diversion while he was convalescing from an attack of
appendicitis.
In 1891, he moved to Paris to follow his developing artistic passion. He joined the Académie Julian, then a well-known art school, studying under the
French symbolist painter Gustave Moreau and the French Academic painter William-Adolphe Bouquereau. While Matisse was influenced by the works of early
French masters like Antoine Watteau, Nicolas Poussin, Antoine Watteau, and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, he also drew from modern artists like Edouard
Manet and the Australian painter John Peter Russell who introduced Matisse to the works of Vincent Van Gogh.
He started to embrace Fauvism, a new art movement that sought to convey extreme emotions through vivid and often dissonant colors. With Andre Derain,
he became one of its leaders. His most famous work from the period was “Woman with the Hat,” exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in 1905. Gertrude and
Leon Stein later bought it.
As he matured, Matisse continued to absorb new influences, such as Primitivism.
In 1917, he relocated to Nice in the South of France. His works started to take on a relaxed approach. By the 1930s, he was simplifying his works as
seen in “Dance II,” which foreshadowed his use of a cutout technique. His renderings of human figures aimed to convey expression with anatomic details
secondary.
In the 1940s, Matisse turned toward paper collage, developing a technique which he called “painting with scissors.” His “Blue Nudes” series, which has
inspired many artists including Yves Klein, is a prime example of his later style.
In 1952, he set up the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau, which continues to have one of the largest collections of his works in France. His final commission
was for the design for a stained-glass church window on the David Rockefeller estate, north of New York.
He died in Nice in 1954 having enjoyed international recognition throughout his lifetime amongst art critics, collectors, and other artists.
