"If my story were ever to be written truthfully from start to finish, it would amaze everyone."
-Henri Matisse-
Henri Matisse, born Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse, was a French artist who lived from December 31, 1869 to November 3, 1954. He grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois, Picardie, France. At age 18, he went to Paris to study law and worked as court administrator in Le Cateau-Cambrésis. He first began painting in 1889, following an attack of appendicitis, when his mother brough him art supplies. He fell in love with painting and decided to become a painter, deeply disappointing his father. In 1891, Matisse returned to Paris to study art at the Académie Julian and became a student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. He left in disgust of the overly perfectionist style of teaching there. He then trained with Gustave Moreau, a more progressive artist. In both studios, he drew figure studies from life. At first, he failed his drawing exam for admission to the École des Beaux-Arts, but persisted and was finally accepted. Matisse began painting still-lives and landscapes in the traditional Flemish style. Chardin was one of his most admired painters. In 1869, he exhibited 5 paintings in the salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and the state bought two of his paintings. From 1897 to 1898, he visited the painter John Peter Russell, who introduced him to impressionism and the work of van Gogh. Matisse's style changed completely, and he later said that Russell was the teacher from whom he learned color theory. The Dinner Table (1897) was Matisse's first masterpiece:
Caroline Joblaud was Matisse's lover for four years during his initial struggles to affirm his artistic direction and professional career. They had a daughter named Marguerite in 1894. In 1898 he married Amélie Noellie Parayre. They raised Marguerite together and had two sons, Jean, born in 1899, and Pierre, born in 1900. Marguerite often served as a model for Matisse. His first solo exposition at Vollard's in 1904 was not very successful. His fondness for bright and excessive color became more pronounced when he moved south and spent time on the French Riviera.
In 1905, Matisse and a group of artists known as the "Fauves" exhibited together at the Salon d'Automne.
Gertrude and Leo Stein bought Matisse's Woman With a Hat. Matisse was recognized as a leader of the group, along with Andre Derain. Still, his work encountered vehement criticism. His controversial 1907 painting, Nu bleu, was burned in effigy at the Armory Show in Chicago in 1913. The decline of the Fauvist movement after 1906 did not affect the rise of Matisse. In 1904, he met painter Pablo Picasso. The two became life-long friends and rivals. The key difference between their work is that Matisse drew and painted from nature, whereas Picasso worked from imagination. Both artists frequently painted women and still life. Gertrude, Leo, Michael, and Sarah Stein were important collectors and supporters of Matisse's paintings. Matisse's friends organized and financed the Académie Matisse in Paris, a private and non-commercial school in which Matisse instructed young artists. It operated from 1907 until 1911.
In 1917, Matisse moved to Cimiez on the French Riviera. His work here shows a relaxation and softening of his approach. After 1930, a new vigor and bolder simplification appear in his work. In 1932, he completed The Dance II, a large mural for the Barnes Foundation.
In 1939, he seperated from his wife of 41 years. In 1941, he underwent surgery and started using a wheelchair. With the help of assistants, he created large paper collages, called gouaches découpés. In 1947, he published Jazz, a limited-edition book containing of these colorful paper cut collages, accompanied by his written thoughts. He also worked as a graphic artist in the 1940s, producing black-and-white illustrations for several books and lithographs at the famous Mourlot Stuidos in Paris. In 1951, he completed a four-year project of designing the interior, glass windows, and decorations of the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence. He established a museum dedicated to his work in 1952, in the city where he was born. Henri Matisse died of a heart attack at age 84 in 1954. He is known for his vivid use of color and his fluid draughtsmanship.
More Paintings:
The Dessert Harmony in Red (1908)
Open Window (1905)
