Henri Matisse There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse Born December 31, 1869 in northern France. He was the oldest son of a prosperous grain merchant. As a child he loved drawing. In 1887, his father funded his education in Law. Henri worked in Paris as a court administrator for two years before suffering from appendicitis. During his recovery, he received a gift from his mother. The art supplies that she gave him re-sparked his love of art and changed the direction of his life.
Matisse left from working in the law field and began to study art formally. In 1891 he began his studies at the Académie Julian. One of his first art teachers was Gustave Moreau, a very well-known artist and teacher at the time. Part of his art education included studying the style and techniques of old masters such as Raphael, sculptors like Rodin and Impressionist artists such as Monet. Many times, artists will copy the work of another artist to try to learn their techniques. Matisse copied over twenty famous paintings during his studies! Bouquet of Sunflowers Claude Monet, 1881 Notice these similar artworks. The famous sunflower painting by Monet is one that Matisse would have studied, but then adapted into his own style. Vase of Sunflowers Henri Matisse, 1898-1899
Family In 1894, Henri Matisse had his first daughter, Margeurite, with a woman who modeled for him. He was later married in 1898 to Amélie Noellie Parayre, a hat maker. Together they had two sons, Jean and Pierre. His wife and daughter often modeled for him while he worked, and can be seen in many of his paintings. Marguerite the Reader, 1906 Marguerite, 1907 Henri and Amélie Matisse, 1898
Henri and Amélie Matisse Woman with a Hat., 1905
Redefining Art By 1900 Henri Matisse was the leader in Post- Impressionism. His style of work was known as Expressionism. This art movement is characterized by bright, bold colors. Expressionists of the time included other artists such as Van Gogh, Cézanne and Gaugin. Rather than paint based on their formal academic art training, they followed their intuition. They experimented with painting the emotional reactions to the things they saw and experienced around them. The world did not know what to think of this new style. In 1905 an art critic who saw a group exhibition at the Salon D Automne in Paris, described the paintings as the work of wild beasts. In French this translates to Fauvism. The Music, 1910 The subjects in these fauvist paintings are all doing things that they enjoy. Some of Henri s most well known paintings are from his observations of musicians and dancers.
Artists were not only influenced by other artists. Often times they are inspired to bring the world around them into their artwork. In 1898 Matisse spent almost the entire year painting the light and color of the landscape near the Mediterranean Sea in southern France. He later traveled to other places such as Tahiti and Morocco. His trips to Morocco in 1906 and 1912 inspired many landscape and figure paintings. European artists whose paintings were influenced by things in Northern Africa were called Orientalists. View from a Window, 1912
Odalisque in Red Trousers, 1951 Sorrow of the Kings, 1952 Matisse painted many beautiful women in Morocco. They were often posed in a reclining position and dressed in the style of the East, wearing colorful jewelry and wide, flowing pants.
Drawing with Scissors When Henri Matisse got older, he became very sick. He eventually had to have abdominal surgery, and after that he was confined to a wheel chair or his bed. Painting became such a challenge for him physically, that he had to give it up. Matisse loved art so much that he couldn t just quit making art, it was his life! Once again, he redefined what was considered art. Matisse turned to paper collage to express himself artistically. His assistants would paint large pieces of white paper with whatever color he asked. Then, he would use scissors to cut shapes. The assistants would then apply the cut shapes to larger paper and move them around until he was satisfied with his collage.
The paper shapes that he cut out were called positives and the leftover paper scraps were called negatives. Matisse used both pieces in his work. Black Leaf on Green, 1952 White Algae on Orange Background, 1947
Icarus, 1943-1944 Blue Nude II, 1952
Vegetables, 1952 King s Sorrow, 1952
And then the collages started getting BIGGER! Many of his pieces started to take up large walls and he was surrounded by murals! The Swimming Pool, 1952 This was Matisse s only cut out painting of a very specific place. He visited this pool in Cannes, but worn out from the trip, he had to return home. Henri decided that he would make his very own pool and worked from his bed for this piece. His assistants began by lining the entire room with the white paper all the way around, just above his head. Matisse then used blue paper to cut out forms of swimmers and sea creatures, which his assistants pinned to the white paper until he was satisfied with their placement. Notice Matisse s use of positive and negative space. This collage has a white background paper and he used that as his water. The blue paper is placed to show how the swimmers are actively moving in the water. See also how Matisse overlapped his blue paper to get the form of the figure on the left.
The Parakeet and the Mermaid, 1952 When he could no longer visit places that he used to love, Matisse designed pieces that reminded him of those places that he had been. Tahiti was one of his favorites and inspired him to do several pieces. This painting took up two full walls in his studio. Matisse thought of them as a little garden all around where I can walk.
Polynesia the Sky, 1946
Matisse s final project was the full design of The Chapel of the Dominicans in Vence, France. From 1948-1952 he designed every aspect of the chapel. He wanted to create a church full of peace and joy. He worked on every detail, from the stained glass windows all the way to what the priests wore. Detail of stained glass window Henri Matisse died at the age of 84 in 1954. He left behind a legacy of work that he created to bring happiness to all who view it. Cut out plan for window Altar with full window
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. Henri Matisse Time for activities!
Activity: First Enjoy reading this short book to the kids to make Matisse come to life! **Book and templates on the Art Appreciation shelves in the media center workroom.** Second: It s time for the kids to draw with their scissors! Reset the slides back to #15 for the kids to reference while they work. You will bring a template sheet for each child to color. Crayons would be the quick and easy option. Remind them that each shape should be one solid color. Third: Once their shapes are all colored, they can cut them out. Ask the teachers for a sheet of blank paper and glue stick for each child. The kids will lay out their colored/cut shapes into any kind of design that they would like. And then they can be glued into place. Finally: If you re running out of time, the sheets can go home with the kids and they can complete them on their own.