Henri Matisse 1869 - 1954

Who Was He? Henri Matisse was a French artist. Matisse liked to use bright colours in his pictures. He also liked to use cut-out shapes.

‘Snow Flowers’ 1951

La Gerbe 1953

‘Les Vegetaux’ and ‘Elements Vegetaux’ 1947

How Did Matisse Make His Pictures? Matisse used cut-out shapes, pure colours and strong patterns in his pictures. Art pictures that are made by cutting out specific shapes and sticking them onto paper or a board are called montages.

Matisse Cutting Out His Shapes

Matisse’s Snail Picture The coloured shapes make a spiral just like the shape of a snail’s shell.

Matisse’s Colours