Henri+Matisse

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Born: December 31, 1869 Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France Died: November 3, 1954 Cimiez, France //French painter and sculptor// The French painter and sculptor Henri Matisse was one of the great initiators of the modern art movement, which uses the combination of bold primary colors and free, simple forms. He was also the most outstanding personality of the first revolution in twentieth century art—Fauvism (style of art that uses color and sometimes distorted forms to send its message).
 * HENRI MATISSE Biography**

Henri Matisse was born on December 31, 1869, in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. After the war of 1870–71 his family moved to Bohain-en-Vermandois, France. Matisse's father was a corn merchant, his mother an amateur painter. Matisse studied law from 1887 to 1891. Matisse suffered from acute appendecittis. His mother brought him paints to keep him busy while recovering. It was then Matisse discovered he wanted to be an artist, and against his fathers wishes went to study art. He worked under Adolphe William Bouguereau at the Académie Julian in Paris, but he left in 1892 to enter the studio of Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied until 1897. Moreau was a liberal teacher who did not interfere with the individuality of his pupils. He encouraged his students to look at nature and to paint outdoors, as well as to frequently visit the museums. Matisse copied paintings in the Louvre and painted outdoors in Paris.

About 1898, under the influence of impressionism (an art form using dabs of paint in primary colors to create an image representing a brief glance rather than a long study), the colors Matisse used became lighter, as in his seascapes of Belle-Île and landscapes of Corsica and the Côte d'Azur (coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea). Although impressionist in character, these early works of Matisse already showed a noticeable emphasis on color and simplified forms. Matisse married in 1898 and visited London, England, in the same year to study. On his return to Paris he attended classes at the Académie Carrière, where he met André Derain. Matisse created his first sculptures in the following year of 1899. He continued to work on sculptures periodocially throughout his career.

Around 1900 Matisse began struggling financially and would do so for years to come. In 1902 the artist, his wife Amélie, and their three children were forced to return to Bohain. In 1903 the Salon d'Automne was founded, where Matisse's first real public exhibit would be displayed. From 1900 to 1903, under the influence of Paul Cézanne, Matisse produced still lifes and nudes. In 1904 he had his first one-man show at the gallery of Ambroise Vollard in Paris and spent the summer in Saint-Tropez, France. In 1905 Matisse painted with Derain at Collioure; the works Matisse created there are excellent examples of Fauvism in their bright colors and flat patterning. Matisse's Fauve period extended from 1905 to 1908, during which time he completed a brilliant series of masterpieces. At the 1905 Salon d'Automne these paintings, known as the Fauves, made their first public appearance. In 1906 Matisse's //Joie de vivre// was exhibited at the Indépendants; the painting gained him the title of the "King of the Fauves."

Matisse made his first trip to North Africa in 1906. His //Blue Nude, or Souvenir de Biskra// (1907), is a memento of the journey. In this painting he experimented with contrapposto (an S-curve pose), and he used the same form in the sculpture //Reclining Nude I// (1907). He had established a studio in the former Convent des Oiseaux in 1905; which became a meeting place for foreign artists. He developed into the leader of an international art school with mainly German and Scandinavian pupils who spread his ideas. His "Notes of a Painter," published in //La Grande// revue in 1908, became the artistic handbook of a whole generation. Matisse was a pleasant man who looked more like a shy government official than an artist. He never accepted any fees for his teaching so that he was not obligated to staying in one place. He did not want commitments to interfere with his creative activity.

Between 1908 and 1913 Matisse made journeys to Spain, Germany, Russia, and Africa. In Munich, Germany, he saw an exhibition of Islamic art (1910), and in Moscow, Russia, he studied Russian icons (1911). Russian collectors began to buy his paintings. He produced five sculptures—heads of Jeannette—during 1910 and 1911, which show a resemblance to African masks and sculptures. His Moroccan journey of 1911–12 had a positive influence on his development, which is seen in //Dance, Music,// the //Red Fishes,// and the series of interiors recording his studio and its contents. They show a stern and compact style with blacks and grays, mauves, greens, and ochers (brown tones). Great Matisse exhibitions were soon held in the years 1910, 1913, and 1919.

By 1919 Matisse had become an internationally known master. His style at that time was characterized by the use of pure colors and their complex interplay (harmonies and contrasts); the two-dimensionality of the picture surface enriched by decorative patterns taken from wallpapers, Oriental carpets, and fabrics; the human figures being treated in the same manner as the decorative elements. The goal of Matisse's art was the portrayal of the joyful living in contrast to the stresses of our technological age. Between 1920 and 1925 he completed a series of odalisques (female slaves), such as the //Odalisque with Raised Arms;// this period has been called an oasis of lightness.

In 1925 Matisse was made chevalier, the lowest ranking member of the Legion of Honor, and in 1927 he received the first prize at the Carnegie International Exhibition at Pittsburgh. After a visit to Tahiti, Matisse was a guest at the Barnes Foundation at Merion, Pennsylvania, and accepted Dr. Barnes's commission to paint a mural, //The Dance// (1932–1933), for the hall of the foundation. During the next years he produced paintings, drawings, book illustrations (etchings and lithographs), sculptures (he made fifty-four bronzes altogether), ballet sets, and designs for tapestry and glass. In 1944 Pablo Picasso arranged for him to be represented in the Salon d'Automne to celebrate the liberation of Paris from Nazi rule.

Matisse considered the peak of his life-work to be his design and decoration of the Chapel of the Rosary for the Dominican nuns at Vence, France (1948–1951). He designed the black-and-white tile pictures, stained glass, altar crucifix, and vestments (ceremonial robes). At the time of the consecration (declaration of sacredness) of the Vence chapel, Matisse held a large retrospective exhibition (a look back at the work he created) in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The ultimate and unexpected step in Matisse's art was taken after he was already suffering from cancer and could no longer paint as he once did. While confined to bed or in a wheelchair, Matisse began creating papiers découpés, abstract cutouts in colored paper. In 1947 he released a compilation of all his cut- paper art in a book titled //Jazz. Matisse accomplished many things in his life. He// died on November 3, 1954, in Cimiez, France, near Nice.

The first painting of Matisse acquired by a public collection was Still life with gernaniums (1910), exhibited in the Pinakothek der Moderne **.****Today, a Matisse painting can fetch as much as US $17 million. In 2002, a Matisse sculpture, Reclining Nude I (Dawn), sold for US $9.2 million, a record for a sculpture by the artist.** Matisse's daughter Marguerite often aided Matisse scholars with insights about his working methods and his works. She died in 1982 while compiling a catalog of her father's work. Matisse's son, Pierre Matisse**, (1900-1989) opened an important modern art gallery in New York City** **during the 1930s. The Pierre Matisse Gallery which was active from 1931 until 1989 represented and exhibited many European artists and a few Americans and Canadians in New York often for the first time. He exhibited Joan Miro** **,** Marc Chagall**,** Alberto Giacometti**,** Jean Dubuffet**,** André Deraianm**,** Yves Tanguay**,** Le Corbusier**,** Paul Delvaux**,** Jean-Paul Riopelle**,** Balthus**,** Leonora Carrington**,** Zao Wou Ki**,** Sam Francis**, sculptors** Theodore Roszak**,** Raymond Mason **and** Reg Butler**, and several other important artists, including the work of Henri Matisse.** Henri Matisse's grandson, Paul Matisse**, is an artist and inventor living in** Massachusetts**. Matisse's great granddaughter** Sophie Matisse **is active as an artist in 2008.**



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