Biography

Henri-Emile-Benoît Matisse (1869 – 1954) was born on December 31, 1869 , in Le Cateau–Cambrésis , France . He was the son and grandson of weavers. He grew up at Bohain-en-Vermandois and studied law in Paris . He then returned to the north and worked as a law clerk. He did not make it to the military service because he was rejected by the army due to ill health. In 1891, he ran away to Paris, abandoned law and started to paint. In Paris , Matisse studied art briefly at the Académie Julian and then at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts with Gustave Moreau. His unusual approach led him to a breakaway school which was later called the Fauvist Movement. He experimented in different styles and was influenced by the impressionist and post-impressionist painters Van Gogh, Pisarro, Gauguin, Cezanne and Paul Signac and by the paintings of W. Turner. By 1905, he finally realized his own style characterized by bold, bright colors, done in a broad brush stroke.

The first collectors and supporters of Matisse paintings were the American writer Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo. Pablo Picasso also became an admirer with whom Matisse swapped paintings in 1907.

When World War I commenced, Matisse earned a high reputation and became an internationally renowned artist. He received the French Legion of Honor award in 1925. In 1952, the Musée Matisse was inaugurated at Matisse's birthplace of Le Cateau–Cambrésis. He remained in Nice until he died in November 3, 1954 , while still creating paper cut-outs work.