Matisse Factsheet
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Born in France 31 December 1869. Died 3 November 1954 aged 84
Best known for his extraordinary sense of colour.
Began to take an interest in art and painting while convalescing after appendicitis aged around twenty.
His mother had given him a box of art supplies. He said “From the moment I held the box of colors in
my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it
loves.” His mother was always an avid supporter of everything he did and advised him to follow his own
instinct rather than the rules of the art establishment of the time. His father, however was
disappointed in his choice to become an artist.
Matisse said that in painting, he discovered a kind of paradise.
In 1891, Matisse went to Paris to study and trained with Gustave Moreau who didn’t follow the
traditionalist ways and so suited Matisse well. He then met the painter John Peter Russell who
introduced him to the work of Van Gogh amongst others and who introduced him to colour theory.
Matisse’s work immediately changed and he became immersed in a love of colour.
In these earlier times, Matisse was most closely associated with ‘Fauvism’. Les Fauves is French for
‘The Wild Beasts’. This was initially a name given as a criticism to this group of artists whose work was
alive with bright colours and thick brushstroke flourishes. The Fauves ignored the true realistic
colours of things, preferring to use bright, strong, vibrant colours in their work. This is why they were
called the wild beasts by their critics. The Fauves were deeply criticised by the art establishment and
even laughed at. Paintings of theirs were even damaged purposefully when exhibited, such was the
dislike of them.
Matisse did ‘A Portrait of Madame Matisse’ in 1905 which is alive with colour and in which the face is
painted with a lime green and bright pinks and yet it works perfectly. This painting is typical of his
Fauvist period.
The American writer and art collector Gertrude Stein was a great supporter of Matisse and she
introduced him to Picasso. Matisse and Picasso were quite different in their approaches as Matisse
tended to work from nature while Picasso worked more from imagination. The two had quite a bit of
rivalry in the art world at the time and didn’t really like each other.
Matisse became more and more interested in colour and pattern, being influenced heavily by textiles
patterns and by Islamic art from a trip to Morocco. Islamic art does not have human figures in and is
all about beautiful pattern work and repetition. Matisse also loved the colours of this country and was
heavily influenced by them.
In 1917, Matisse moved to Nice where again, he was entranced by the depth of colours brought by the
sun. His work became ever bolder with strong blocks of colour which seemed to capture space and
depth whilst simplifying in shape and detail.
Good time to pick a piece by Matisse - give title, date and medium (i.e. oil on canvas). Analyse it using
content form process mood sheet. This is a very important element of your essay!
Compare with your first artist if Matisse is your second.
1941 Matisse diagnosed with cancer and had surgery. After this illness, he felt that he had a new lease
of life and created a huge amount of new work. He did lots of paper collage cut work including the
famous Snail, paper cut out in 1952. he called this ‘painting with scissors and he said "Only what I
created after the illness constitutes my real self: free, liberated.” These works showed great balance
and simplicity. In 1947 he published Jazz, a limited-edition book containing prints of colorful, paper cut
collages, accompanied by his written thoughts.
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In 1951, Matisse completed a major four-year project of designing the interior, the glass windows and
the decorations of the Chapelle du Rosaire in Venice. This exhausted Matisse and he had poor health
now, meaning that he wasn’t able to stand for long. He would attach his paintbrush to a long pole and
would also do lots of gouache cut outs from his wheelchair.
Having worked to the end and created a huge body of work, Matisse died at the age of 84 of a heart
attack.
During his life, Matisse’s art progressed hugely over many stages and many would say that Matisse’s
work was a huge milestone and link between Post-Impressionist and Modern Art.