Henri Matisse

A portrait of Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Nord, 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.

He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but mainly known as a painter. Matisse is regarded as one of the main artists who helped to create the revolutionary developments in art early in the 20th century.

"Matisse created brilliantly coloured canvases structured by colour applied in a variety of brushwork, ranging from thick impasto [thick paint] to flat areas of pure pigment, sometimes accompanied by a sinuous, arabesque-like line. [This was] the first of the avant-garde movements (1905–7), named "Fauvism" by a contemporary art critic, referring to its use of arbitrary combinations of bright colors and energetic brushwork to structure the composition".

Although he was initially called a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s he was increasingly seen as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of form and colour, in work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

Other websites

• Matisse in Artchive Artchive
• 500 hi-res images Henri Matisse: life and work