Henri Matisse

Biography:

Henri Matisse was born on December 31st, 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. He initially studied and practiced law from 1887 to 1891. However, in 1891, he chose to travel to Paris, France to become a painter after a slow recovery from appendicitis led to his interest in the practice of painting. As an artist, Matisse worked under William-Adolphe Bouguereau at the Académie Julian. In 1896, he sent his artwork to a number of exhibitions in Paris, and he had his first solo show in 1904. His early work reflected a conventional form of naturalism, but he also studied art that was more contemporary, especially pieces created by the impressionists. Matisse then began to experiment with different shapes and colors, later being deemed a leader of the group les fauves ("the wild beasts") who were known for their use of vivid colors, distortion of shapes, and the extreme emotionalism their paintings tended to show. From 1906 to 1917, he lived in Paris, establishing his home, studio, and school at Hotel Biron. Matisse met Pablo Picasso in 1906, and they quickly became friends and exchanged paintings. Matisse shared an exhibition with Picasso in 1918. The two artists often served as inspirational figures for each other and performed similar artistic experiments (with their use of vibrant colors,etc.). From the 1920s up until his death, he spent a lot of his time in southern France, particularly Nice, painting local scenes. In his old age, Matisse was commissioned  to design the decoration for the Chapel of Saint-Marie du Rosaire at Vence, which he completed between 1947 and 1951. During the last few years of his life when he was often confined to his bed, he kept himself busy with decoupage, where he would create artwork with brightly-colored paper cut-outs arranged on a canvas surface. He died in Nice, France on November 3, 1954. Unlike most artists, Matisse actually enjoyed great popularity during his lifetime, and his work was favored by countless art enthusiasts all over the world. 

Why Henri Matisse?

I chose to do my research on Henri Matisse simply because I wanted to learn more about him and his work. I knew only that he was an artist famous for his abstract paintings until I decided to collect this biographical information on him. I don't remember learning anything about Matisse in my art classes, although I was taught a lot about artists such as Picasso and van Gogh. I also don't remember having ever seen any of his work before, so I was curious to find out what pieces of his typically looked like. I wanted to find out the types of things in life he preferred to capture in his artwork.

Samples of Matisse's Work:


The Horse, Rider and Clown (1943)



The Nightmare of the White Elephant (1943)



Odalisque with a Moorish Chair (1928)



The Moroccans (1916)

Vase and Fruit (1901)

Sources:

1.) Berggruen, Olivier. Hollein, Max. Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors, Masterpieces from the Late Years. New York: Prestel Publishing, 2006.

2.) Sternau, Susan A. Henri Matisse. New York: New Line Books Ltd, 2006.