Born on December 31, 1869 in Nord, France, as the first son to his parents who ran a flower business. In 1887, Henri Matisse studied law in Paris and worked as a court administrator to gain qualifications. It was only in 1889 that Matisse began to paint after his mother brought him art supplies following an appendicitis attack. Matisse was encouraged by his mother to paint utilizing his emotions as a driving force rather than traditional training or techniques. As he claimed to have found his own little paradise when he painted, Matisse was overcome with a passion for his art. He returned to Paris to study art, to his father’s disappointment, and enrolled in the Academie Julian.
During most of his artistic studies he painted in the traditional Flemish style. It wasn’t until meeting fellow artist Peter Russell that Matisse was introduced to impressionism and the works of then unknown Van Gogh. This completely changed Matisse’s style thereafter. He later credited Russell as his teacher who introduced and explained color theory to him. He had a daughter with model, Caroline Joblau, and shortly after married Amelie Noellie Parayre who helped raise his daughter Marguerite and with whom he had two sons: Jean and Pierre. He often used Amelie and his daughter Marguerite as his models. Matisse’ artistic style was influenced by a number of different styled artists including the more traditional French artists Chardin and Manet as well as post-impressionists Vincent Van Gogh and Cezanne. He even claimed to have been influenced by Japanese art. Matisse is now regarded with a number of other artists as a Fauvist. This style denotes an almost wild use of color that defies their natural order in reality. His then unconventional style of painting made success elusive and he often struggled to provide for his family.
In the early 1900′s, Matisse met Picasso, a lifelong friend and rival, whom his work is often compared to. The distinct differences between these two gentleman’s styles is that Matisse often painted from nature while Picasso preferred to work from his imagination. Often rivaling, the two men received patronage from several of the same people including Leo and Gertrude Stein. He continued painting throughout the years, often switching from softer more traditional painting to his recognizable Fauvist style and utilized many different mediums for his art aside from painting including draughtsmanship, sculpting and printmaking.
In 1939, he and his wife of 41 years separated. Soon after, Matisse underwent a colostomy and was then required to use a wheelchair. He continued to create art in spite of this, though he began to engage in creating various large scale collages rather than painting. In 1951, Matisse finished a 4 year art project for the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence in which he designed the interior, various decorations and glass windows. This chapel is now commonly referred to as the Matisse Chapel. Only a few short years later in 1954, Matisse died at age 84 of a heart attack. His intense use of color in paintings and mastery in drawing have gained him recognition as a leading artist in modern art. Some of his popular artworks include “Harmony in Red” and “Woman With a Hat.”
No related posts.