Henri Matisse 1869-1954 1913 in front of the painting “Bathers by a River” Henri and his wife Amelie Matisse. Matisse was born in the north of France. His parents owned a seed company. Henri was the oldest of 3. Unlike many other artists, Matisse showed no interest in art at a young age. Matisse didn’t begin painting until he was 20 years old. The story is that his father wanted him to become a lawyer and while he was in law school he had an attack of appendicitis. While recovering at home in bed his mother bought him a watercolor set and for the first time in his life he wasn’t bored! This was a great “aha” moment in Matisse’s life. While assisting a lawyer in town he took art classes. When he decided to become a full-time artist his father was very upset but Henri moved to Paris and enrolled in art school.

Portrait of Madame Matisse/The Green Line 1905 Matisse wants his paintings to capture his emotion. Matisse travels to sunny places and uses the colors that he sees in his paintings. Henri marries Amelie, the woman in the picture. The Matisse family was very poor at the time this picture was painted. Henri and Amelie had 3 children, a daughter and two sons. They did not have a lot of food, in fact, Matisse was often tempted to eat the still lives he set up in the studio. After this exhibition, Matisse was labeled a fauve (french, for wild beast), this was not meant as a compliment. Some people thought that his paintings were so horrible and that they should be burned. What do you think? Henri’s wife supported and encouraged him even though his art was unsuccessful.

Harmony in Red, 1908 Henri added decorative lines and colorful patterns to his paintings. This painting was originally done in blues but Matisse painted over the blue in the end. The painting was commissioned for a collector’s salon to hang next to some Gauguin pieces (which were primarily blue in color). Matisse studies patterns from all over the world. He incorporates these patterns in his paintings. “I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.” -Matisse

The Goldfish, 1912 Matisse wants his paintings to give pleasure and be soothing. Matisse’s paintings balance beautiful colors and simple shapes.

1912 Jeanette I-III (Matisse’s daughter) Plaster casts – shows reworking of the same subject. Often times you will see many versions of the same painting or sculpture. Matisse reworks his paintings as well as his sculptures. Do these plaster heads all look like the same person?

1917 The Windshield on the Road to Villacoublay What do you see? Where is the artist sitting? What are we doing? Is he in the city?

1937 Woman in a Purple Robe Matisse painted every day things. People in every day situations. He let the white of the canvas peek out to give his colors a sparkling feel. Matisse used saturated, bright, and unrealistic color in his paintings. There are many painted versions of Woman in a Purple Robe. What do you see in the picture?

1947 Horse, Rider and Clown (plate V from “Jazz”) Matisse painted paper with gouache, a type of tempera watercolor, before cutting it out to make collages. Matisse layers and overlaps his images. Can you guess the title of this collage? What kinds of images do you see?

Female head 1950 Like an acrobat, Matisse practiced and practiced, often erasing an image 30 times until it was perfect. Matisse became very famous for his line drawings.

1953 Matisse in his studio at the Hotel Regina, Nice In 1941, cancer confined Matisse to a wheelchair. Insisting on still making art, he cut out shapes, handing them to his assistant, who pasted them on the wall . The image was on the other side of the room, 12 feet away. He also drew from his bed with charcoal taped to a pole as well as cut shapes and sculpted with paper. When Matisse died in 1954 at the age of 84, he was a very famous artist.