About Henri Matisse

Tagged as the “Master of Color,” Henri Matisse was looked upon as one of the greatest French painters of the 20 th century along with Pablo Picasso. He was often described as a born leader, having taught and encouraged other painters, just like Raphael.

Matisse's artistic career was lengthy and diverse, traversing various styles of painting from Impressionism to near Abstraction. During the early part of his career, he pioneered the Fauvist (meaning Wild Beasts) Movement, which focused on the expressiveness of color. This stage reached its peak in 1917 when he began to work at the French Riviera at Nice and Vence. Here he focused on revealing the earthy color of his setting and finished some of his most dazzling artworks. He was diagnosed with duodenal cancer in 1941 and was permanently locked up to a wheelchair. Nevertheless, this condition did not stop him to pursue and complete the superb Chapel of the Rosary in Vence.

Matisse persisted on creating until his 80's wherein he created the papercuttings, which he was best known for. Unable to stand at an easel, he created his papercuts, carving in colored paper, scissoring out shapes and collaging them into sometimes vast pictures. His perfect understanding of the relationship between color and shape earned his reputation as the “Master of Color.”