Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was born in France on New Year’s Eve in 1869 and lived
until he was 84. He died in 1954.
Matisse was a very good student and went to law school and became a
lawyer even though he never really liked it.
In 1889 Matisse has appendicitis and was restricted to his bed. His mother
bought him paints to keep him from becoming bored and he fell in love with
painting at the age of 20.
He actually told his wife, “I love you dearly, but I will always love painting
more”.
He studied in very famous art schools and learned all of the rules of art. But
he never enjoyed painting by the rules. He became an outcast of the art
world.
He later travelled around and saw the works of Vincent van Gogh who was
completely unknown at the time and his style changed completely. He also
admired Gauguin and Cezanne (who was famous for still life of fruit…Does
anyone know what a still-life is?) He later said that he owes the most to
Cezanne. He also admired an artist names Signac who like Georges Seurat
painted in a style called Pointillism. Who remembers what that means?
(Venezia pg. 19)
He was married and had 3 children, one who had a grandson named Paul
Matisse who would also become a famous artist. His children were always
very close to their father.
Matisse went through MANY different styles or periods of painting, but he
is most famous for being the one who started the “Fauvist” movement.
Fauve is a French word for beast. When he showed his art work in art
shows, the people who came to see them (called Critics) thought his use of
bright colors was ridiculous and they called him a beast. But some,
especially Americans who worked and travelled to France, loved his style
and they bought many of his paintings. Matisse was actually famous while
he was alive (unlike many artists who don’t become famous until after the
die, like Van Gogh).
Still, many criticized him and he was often depressed.
Matisse and Pablo Picasso were great rivals. Does anyone know what that
means? They both looked over each others shoulders to see what the other
was doing. Matisse drew from nature and Picasso drew from imagination.
There is a story where Picasso and Matisse had traded paintings and Picasso
later threw darts at Matisse’s painting.
Matisse often painted women and his wife, Amelie, sat for one painting over
100 times. For one painting!!! (Portrait of Madame Matisse-Venezia pg. 24,
Raboff).
Matisse was sick a lot later in life and had nurses take care of him. So after
his divorce, he often painted them.
In 1941 Matisse was diagnosed with cancer and was bedridden so he
couldn’t stand up to paint for the many hours it took to complete a paining
so he began to cut out paper. He called it “Painting with scissors”. He did
mostly decoupage the last 14 years of his life. He called it his second life.
In 1947 he published a book called “Jazz” where he showed many of his
most famous cut outs, or decoupage.
Before he died, Matisse, who collected rare birds, gave away his most
precious pigeons. Can you guess who he gave it to? He gave it to Picasso,
who loved doves. Picasso used this bird as the subject in “Dove of Peace”.
One of the women who took care of him was a nun whose church was right
down the road. He was so thankful to have her as a friend that he made and
donated a huge glass sculpture to the church. (Venezia pg. 32, Anholt &
Raboff books)
Matisse died at the age of 84 from a heart attack. His works all shown in
museums all over the world!