Henri Matisse: Life, Works, Exhibitions, and Artistic Practice

Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) is widely considered one of the most significant and influential artists of the 20th century. A French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor, and innovator, Matisse reshaped modern art through his revolutionary use of colour, form, and composition. Although often associated with Fauvism—a movement emphasizing bold colour and painterly freedom—his career spanned many styles and techniques, reflecting continuous experimentation and evolution.

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Henri Matisse was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, in the Nord of France, into a modest family involved in the grain business. Originally studying law, his life changed dramatically after an appendicitis attack in 1890 during which he discovered painting while convalescing—this sparked a passion that would define his life.

In 1891 he moved to Paris to study art, attending the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts. Under the mentorship of Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, Matisse developed technical skills while learning to find his unique voice rather than merely imitate established styles. By the mid-1890s, he was exhibiting work in Paris salons and gaining early recognition.

Rise of Fauvism and Innovation in Painting

Fauvist Breakthrough

Around 1905, Matisse became the leading figure of Fauvism (“les Fauves” meaning “the wild beasts”), a short but pivotal movement in modern art characterized by vivid, unmodulated colours and a liberation of traditional perspective. His painting Woman with a Hat introduced at the Salon d’Automne in Paris caused a sensation for its striking palette and expressive brushwork.

One of his emblematic Fauvist works is The Open Window (1905)—an oil on canvas that uses bright, contrasting colours to depict the view from his window in Collioure, a seaside town in southern France.

Notable Paintings and Styles

Throughout his career, Matisse continually explored the expressive capacities of colour and simplified form:

• The Red Studio (1911): A bold oil on canvas composition that dissolves depth in favour of rhythmic flat colour and spatial interplay, now at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
• La Danse (1910): A monumental work commissioned for the Hermitage Museum, celebrating rhythm and movement with a striking minimal palette and simplified figures.
• The Music Lesson (1917): A family portrait framed by vibrant colour and composition, also an oil on canvas.

In these canvases, Matisse pushed colour beyond descriptive realism—using hues to evoke emotion, structure, and energy.

Mediums and Materials: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Prints

While Matisse is primarily known as a painter, his artistic output spans a wide range of mediums.

Painting

From the beginning, Matisse favoured oil paints applied to canvas. State-of-the-art pigments of his time allowed him to explore intense, saturated colours—often straight from the tube, without traditional blending or shading.

Drawing and Prints

Drawing remained foundational to his artistic process. Whether quick sketches or detailed studies, many of Matisse’s ideas were developed through pen and ink, pencil, or brush drawings. His later drawings from the 1940s and ’50s exhibit confident, simplified contours that focus on expressive line.

Sculpture

Matisse also worked in sculpture, experimenting with stone, bronze, and plaster during the 1910s and beyond. His sculptural figures—from heads to more abstracted shapes—reflect his ongoing interest in form and rhythm across dimensions.

The Cut-Outs (“Gouaches Découpées”): Late-Life Innovation

Facing serious health issues and limited mobility in the 1940s and early ’50s, Matisse devised one of his most innovative techniques: paper cut-outs, or gouaches découpées. Working with assistants, he painted sheets of paper with gouache (opaque water-based paint), then cut vibrant shapes with scissors and arranged them into compositions—sometimes monumental in scale.

Iconic Cut-Out Works

• The Snail (1953): A large collage of cut paper arranging colour in spiral form, held by Tate Modern, London.
• La Négresse (1952–53): A wall-sized cut-paper work created from gouache-painted pieces.
• Le Bateau (1953): A small but famous cut paper work now at MoMA, known for once being inadvertently hung upside-down by the museum.

During this period, Matisse referred to scissors as “drawing with scissors”, emphasizing the same creative intention behind brushwork but rendered through shape and colour.

Major Exhibitions and Public Reception

Matisse’s work has been showcased in countless exhibitions and retrospectives worldwide. During his lifetime, key shows included early Fauvist displays, solo exhibitions in Paris and abroad, and major retrospectives that positioned him as a central figure in modern art.

In recent years, major institutions have continued to celebrate Matisse’s legacy. For example, exhibitions like Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at MoMA in New York brought together nearly 100 works, contextualizing his late-life innovation alongside preparatory sketches and archival material.

Posthumously, museums such as the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Tate Modern (London), and other international institutions maintain substantial Matisse collections and rotate exhibitions highlighting different aspects of his oeuvre. A recent donation of more than 60 works to the Musée d’Art Moderne underscores his enduring importance in French cultural heritage.

Legacy and Influence

Matisse’s impact on modern and contemporary art is immense. His radical colour theories, flattened pictorial space, and experimental materials opened new artistic possibilities beyond academic realism. Fauvism, while brief, was formative for later movements like Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. His cut-outs, in particular, prefigured later developments in collage, installation, and abstraction. Martin Freedman and many scholars see Matisse not just as a painter but as a visionary who redefined how artists could make and think about visual art.

Even today, artists continue to reinterpret and respond to Matisse’s work, illustrating its enduring vitality in art discourse and practice.

Conclusion

Henri Matisse’s artistic journey—from his early education through Fauvist breakthroughs, explorations in drawing and sculpture, to his late-life development of the cut-out technique—demonstrates a tireless commitment to innovation. Across mediums and over decades, he remained devoted to colour as expression, form as feeling, and creative freedom as his guiding principle. His art not only transformed modern aesthetics but continues to inspire artists, scholars, and audiences around the world.

🎨 Chronological Timeline of Henri Matisse (1869–1954)

1869

• Born on 31 December in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France.

1890

• Discovers painting while recovering from appendicitis.
• Decides to pursue art instead of law.

1891–1897

• Studies in Paris at the Académie Julian and École des Beaux-Arts.
• Influenced by Gustave Moreau.
• Begins exhibiting at the Salon Nationale.

1904

• Paints Luxe, Calme et Volupté — an early move toward bold colour.

1905 – Fauvism Begins

• Exhibits at the Salon d’Automne.
• Paints Woman with a Hat.
• Leads the Fauvist movement (“Les Fauves” – The Wild Beasts).

1905

• Paints The Open Window in Collioure.

1908

• Publishes “Notes of a Painter,” explaining his artistic philosophy.

1910

• Completes La Danse (commissioned by Russian collector Sergei Shchukin).
• Also paints Music.

1911

• Paints The Red Studio.

1917–1930

• Moves to Nice period.
• Creates refined interior scenes with odalisques.
• Focus on decorative pattern and light.

1930–1933

• Creates large mural The Dance II for the Barnes Foundation.

1941

• Diagnosed with cancer; undergoes surgery.
• Becomes wheelchair-bound.

1943–1947

• Begins paper cut-outs (“drawing with scissors”).
• Creates illustrated book Jazz (published 1947).

1952

• Designs Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence (Chapel of the Rosary).

1953

• Creates The Snail (cut-out masterpiece).

1954

• Dies on 3 November in Nice, France.

🎨 Focused Analysis of Key Masterpieces

🩰 La Danse (1910)

📍 Medium:

Oil on canvas

📍 Current Location:

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

🎨 Description & Composition

La Danse shows five nude figures holding hands in a circular dance. The background is extremely simplified:

• Blue sky
• Green earth
• Red/orange bodies

There is no realistic perspective or detail. Instead, the painting focuses on rhythm, movement, and harmony.

🎨 Use of Colour

Matisse uses:

• Flat, bold colour fields
• Strong contrast (red against blue and green)
• No shading or modeling

Colour becomes emotional rather than descriptive.

🎨 Meaning & Interpretation

• Symbolizes unity, life energy, and primal human expression.
• The circular motion suggests eternity and harmony.
• It represents Matisse’s belief that art should create balance and joy.

🎨 Why It’s Important

• One of the most famous works of Fauvism.
• A turning point toward modern abstraction.
• Influenced later artists like Mark Rothko and modern expressionists.

📘 Jazz (1947)

📍 Medium:

Pochoir prints from gouache paper cut-outs
Handwritten text by Matisse

📍 Background

Created after Matisse became seriously ill. Unable to stand and paint large canvases, he began cutting painted paper with scissors.

He called it:

“Drawing with scissors.”

🎨 Visual Style

• Bright, pure colours
• Abstract shapes
• Circus and theatrical themes
• Dynamic composition

🎨 Famous Image from Jazz:

• Icarus (falling figure against blue background with yellow stars)

🎨 Themes

• Life and death
• Risk and freedom
• Movement and improvisation (like jazz music)

🎨 Materials Used

• Gouache (opaque water-based paint)
• Painted sheets of paper
• Large scissors
• Pins to arrange compositions
• Pochoir stencil printing for book production

🎨 Why It’s Important

• Marks Matisse’s final artistic reinvention.
• Bridges painting and collage.
• Influenced graphic design and contemporary visual art.
• Shows how physical limitation led to creative freedom.

🎯 Comparison: La Danse vs Jazz

🌟 Final Thoughts

Henri Matisse’s career shows constant reinvention:

• Early bold colour experiments
• Monumental symbolic paintings
• Elegant decorative interiors
• Radical paper cut-outs in old age

He proved that artistic creativity does not decline with age—it evolves