Henri Matisse
Born – Le Cateau, France 1869
Died – Cimiez, France 1954
Henri Matisse originally trained as a lawyer, turning to art while recovering from appendicitis. Initially seduced by the Impressionists and, in particular, by Cézanne, Matisse brought together a circle of like-minded artists who became known as the Fauves (the Beasts) after their sensational exhibition of 1905. These early paintings revealed an intuitive and explosive colour sense which was to become the defining feature of Matisse’s long career. Believing art to be “something like a good armchair in which one rests from physical fatigue”, he was dedicated to producing worj that expressed a harmony close to a musical composition. There are two versions of La Danse, originally produced with another enormous panel entitled Musique for a Russian collector. Dance was a popular topic at the time as Diaghilev and the Russian Ballet had just visited Paris. Despite, or because of, the simplification of colour, form, and line, the figures appear to be full of life. Matisse made sculptures, designed sets and costumes and illustrated books. He was also an important graphic artist who, in his bed-ridden final years, evolved his own method of arranging cut-out paper shapes. He is indisputably the greatest decorative artist of the twentieth century.
Masterpieces:
- The Red Studio
- Polynesie, La Mer
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About henri matisse
Matisse, Henri (Great Masters)
Susan Sternau
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Henri Matisse (Taschen Basic Art Series)
Gilles Neret
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Henri Matisse, 1869-1954: Master of Colour (Basic Art)
Volkmar Essers
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