Henri Matisse
On New Year's Eve in 1869, Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was born into a wealthy grain merchant family in Le Cateau-Cambrésis. He grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois and followed his father's path by studying law in Paris. In 1887, he worked as a court administrator back home after earning his qualification. His life changed completely during an attack of appendicitis that forced him to convalesce at age twenty. His mother brought him art supplies to pass the time while he recovered from surgery. He discovered what he later described as "a kind of paradise" inside those quiet hours of recovery. The young man decided to abandon his legal career to become an artist instead. This decision deeply disappointed his father who expected him to continue the family business.
Matisse exhibited five paintings in the salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1896. Two of these works were purchased by the state despite his status as an unknown student. He traveled to Belle Île off Brittany in 1896 where Australian painter John Russell introduced him to Impressionism. Russell gave him a drawing by Vincent van Gogh which changed his style completely. He abandoned his earth-colored palette for bright colors after learning color theory from Russell. By 1905, Matisse showed Woman with a Hat at the Salon d'Automne alongside other artists now known as Fauves. A critic named Louis Vauxcelles saw a sculpture surrounded by wild dissonant colors and called it Donatello among the wild beasts. The phrase passed into popular usage that same year on October 17th when printed in Gil Blas newspaper. Critics like Camille Mauclair claimed a pot of paint had been flung in the public's face during the exhibition. Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo bought the condemned painting anyway which improved the artist's morale significantly.
Matisse visited Morocco in 1912 and stayed there for seven months until 1913. During this time he produced about twenty-four paintings and numerous drawings. His frequent orientalist topics such as odalisques can be traced directly back to this period. Goldfish in aquariums became a recurring theme following his trip to Tangier. He made several changes to his work while painting in North Africa including his use of black as a color. The effect was a new boldness in using intense unmodulated color seen clearly in L'Atelier Rouge from 1911. Earlier travels to Algeria in 1906 studying African art also influenced his direction. An exhibition of Islamic art in Munich in 1910 led him to spend two months studying Moorish art in Spain. These experiences shaped his style toward flattened forms and decorative patterns that defined much of his output between 1906 and 1917.
Around April 1906, Matisse met Pablo Picasso who was eleven years younger than himself. They became lifelong friends and rivals often compared by critics throughout the twentieth century. One key difference lay in their methods since Matisse drew from nature while Picasso worked more from imagination. Both artists frequently painted women and still lifes though Matisse placed figures in fully realized interiors more often. Gertrude Stein brought them together at her Paris salon located at 27 rue de Fleurus. Her brother Leo and partner Alice B. Toklas hosted Saturday evening gatherings where many artists visited to see Matisse paintings. The Steins were important collectors supporting Matisse's work during the first decade of the new century. Their American friends Claribel and Etta Cone became major patrons collecting hundreds of paintings and drawings by both men. The Cone collection now resides in the Baltimore Museum of Art today.
Matisse remained in occupied France when Nazis invaded in June 1940 despite pleas from his son Pierre to flee. He wrote to Pierre in September stating he felt it would be desertion if everyone left. His surgery for duodenal cancer in 1941 resulted in serious complications that nearly killed him. Being bedridden for three months led to developing a new art form using paper and scissors. A nursing student named Monique Bourgeois responded to an advertisement he placed for help. She taught perspective before leaving to join a convent in 1944. Matisse began creating cut paper collages with assistants pre-painting sheets of gouache into shapes. He arranged these colorful silhouettes to form lively compositions that were distinct from painting or sculpture. His initial pieces were modest but eventually grew into mural-size works like Oceania the Sky and Oceania the Sea created in 1946. Lydia Delectorskaya pinned bird and fish silhouettes directly onto walls under his direction.
In 1948, Matisse began preparing designs for the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence chapel. He used the cut-out method to design windows chasubles and tabernacle doors all planned within this decorative context. Finishing his last painting in 1951 and final sculpture the year before allowed him to focus solely on paper cut-outs until death. He moved to the hilltop village of Vence in 1943 where he produced his first major project titled Jazz. This book contained cut-outs conceived as stencil print designs rather than independent pictorial works initially. The number of independently conceived cut-outs steadily increased following Jazz leading to large scale murals. His final work was a stained-glass window installed at the Union Church of Pocantico Hills near New York City. It remained on his bedroom wall when he died on the 3rd of November 1954 at age eighty-four from a heart attack. He is buried in the cemetery of Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez in Nice.
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Common questions
When was Henri Matisse born and where did he grow up?
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was born on New Year's Eve in 1869 into a wealthy grain merchant family in Le Cateau-Cambrésis. He grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois before studying law in Paris.
How did Henri Matisse discover his passion for art instead of law?
An attack of appendicitis forced Henri Matisse to convalesce at age twenty while recovering from surgery. His mother brought him art supplies which led him to describe the experience as finding paradise inside quiet hours of recovery. This discovery caused him to abandon his legal career to become an artist despite disappointing his father.
What event changed Henri Matisse's color palette and style?
Australian painter John Russell introduced Henri Matisse to Impressionism during a trip to Belle Île off Brittany in 1896. Russell gave him a drawing by Vincent van Gogh that completely changed his style. Henri Matisse abandoned his earth-colored palette for bright colors after learning color theory from Russell.
Why is Henri Matisse associated with the Fauvism movement?
Henri Matisse showed Woman with a Hat at the Salon d'Automne in 1905 alongside other artists now known as Fauves. A critic named Louis Vauxcelles called the sculpture surrounded by wild dissonant colors Donatello among the wild beasts on October 17th when printed in Gil Blas newspaper. The phrase passed into popular usage that same year to define the group.
How did Henri Matisse develop his cut-out technique during illness?
Henri Matisse developed a new art form using paper and scissors after being bedridden for three months following surgery for duodenal cancer in 1941. He began creating cut paper collages with assistants pre-painting sheets of gouache into shapes. These colorful silhouettes formed lively compositions distinct from painting or sculpture including mural-size works like Oceania the Sky created in 1946.
When did Henri Matisse die and where is he buried?
Henri Matisse died on the 3rd of November 1954 at age eighty-four from a heart attack while his final stained-glass window remained on his bedroom wall. He is buried in the cemetery of Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez in Nice.