June 3, 2011

A Little About Henri Matisse ¹

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was born as the son of a grain merchant in the Picardy region of northern France. He studied law and worked as a law clerk. When he was 21 years old he became seriously ill from an appendicitis attack. During his recovery Matisse started painting and discovered his love for art, which become his life-long passion.

Matisse  is considered one of the greatest modern artists, known for his use of rich, bright colors, fanciful patterns, flattened, abstract forms, and graceful lines. He worked very hard to create art like “a comfortable armchair” in which to relax. Matisse’s art is beloved by many for its lively harmonies and joyous spirit.

Monsieur Matisse transformed his very ordinary apartments into a kind of stage set filled with luscious colors and patterns. He used his favorite props — a birdcage, a pewter jug, a Chinese vase — again and again.

He wrote, “I have worked all my life before the same objects. The object is an actor. A good actor can have a part in ten different plays; an object can play a role in ten different pictures.”

PAINTING WITH SCISSORS

During the early to mid-1940s Matisse was in poor health and found it difficult to stand in front of his easel. The artist therefore turned to another form of artistic expression. He created paper cut-outs in the same vivid, strong colors and daring compositions known from his paintings. He had an assistant and could work lying in bed or sitting comfortably in an arm-chair.

Matisse’s cutouts are among the most admired and influential works of his entire career. The Blue Nudes are a major series’ of Matisse’s final body of works known as the cutouts. They are widely viewed as an important and innovative group of Matisse’s collages.

Here’s a link to a wonderful Matisse inspired collage project.

The video below shows many of Matisse’s paintings: