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Henri Matisse was born in Le Cateau, France December 31 st 1869 His family worked in the grain business. As a young man Matisse worked as a legal clerk and then studied for a law degree in Paris in In 1898 he married Amélie Parayre, with whom he would have three children. When he was 21, he fell ill with appendicitis and was given a paint set by his mother who encouraged him to listen to his emotions with art rather than the rules.

Over a six-decade career he worked in all media, from painting to sculpture to printmaking. Although his subjects were traditional— nudes, figures in landscapes, portraits, interior views—his revolutionary use of brilliant color and exaggerated form to express emotion made him one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In one of his final projects, Matisse created an entire program of decorations for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence ( ), a town near Nice, designing stained-glass windows, murals, furnishings, and even sacred vestments for the church’s priests. In 1954 Matisse died of a heart attack at the age of 84

Self Portrait Ink on paper 1900

The Swan Etching

Face of a Woman 1935

The Asian Charcoal on paper 1939

Pot de Begonie

Flowers Pen, ink, and watercolor 1945

Interior with a Window and Palm Tree Brush and Ink 1948

Face (Claudie) Charcoal on paper 1949

Face Charcoal on paper 1946

Bather with Leaves Charcoal on paper 1942

Experimentation with cut-outs offered Matisse innumerable opportunities to fashion a new, aesthetically pleasing environment (He called this “painting with scissors.”) " La Gerbe 1953, multicolored leaves that resemble a spray of flowers, was completed a few months before his death, but it explodes with life. The artist who almost reinvented color in painting had by now found freedom in the simplicity of decoration. "I have the mastery of it,"