![La Leçon de peinture or La Séance de peinture [The Painting Lesson or The Painting Session] by Henri Matisse](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0833/9292/1935/files/artwork-henri-matisse-la-le-on-de-peinture-or-la-s-ance-de-peinture-the-painting.jpg?width=480)
Matisse started painting because of appendicitis. He was twenty, working as a law clerk in Saint-Quentin, and his mother gave him a box of paints to pass the time during recovery. He later described the experience as finding a kind of paradise. He quit the law.
Key facts
Biography
He studied under Gustave Moreau at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Moreau was a Symbolist painter of mythological scenes, which has almost nothing to do with what Matisse went on to make. But Moreau was a good teacher precisely because he did not impose his style. Matisse said Moreau 'did not set us on the right roads, but off the roads. He disturbed our complacency.' Several of Moreau's other students, including Georges Rouault, also became significant painters.
In the summer of 1905[7], Matisse went to Collioure in the south of France with Andre Derain and came back with paintings so aggressively colourful that a critic at the Salon d'Automne called them 'fauves': wild beasts. The name stuck, as these things do. Fauvism[7] was short-lived as a movement but it settled something for Matisse. Colour was structure. He spent the next fifty years proving it.
The later career was mostly about reduction. Dance, The Red Studio, the Moroccan paintings: each one stripped further back. Then cancer surgery in 1941[7] left him largely confined to a wheelchair, and he started making cut-outs: shapes carved from sheets of pre-painted paper and pinned to the wall. He called it painting with scissors. The cut-outs look simple but they are precise. The blue nudes, the snail, the swimming pool frieze. They are the work of someone who has been drawing for sixty years and finally has no patience for anything that is not essential.
He and Picasso maintained a complicated friendship for decades. They exchanged paintings, visited each other's studios, and competed without ever quite admitting it. Picasso kept a Matisse in his bedroom.
Timeline
- 1869Born on 31 December in Le Cateau-Cambresis, northern France, the son of a grain merchant. He showed no early interest in art and studied law.
- 1890Began painting aged 20 while recovering from appendicitis. His mother gave him a box of paints; he later called the discovery a kind of paradise.
- 1905Exhibited Woman with a Hat at the Salon d'Automne aged 35. A critic labelled the group "les fauves" (the wild beasts), giving Fauvism its name.
- 1910Completed Dance and Music, aged 40, commissioned by Russian collector Sergei Shchukin for his Moscow mansion.
- 1941Underwent surgery for abdominal cancer in Lyon aged 71. Left largely confined to a wheelchair, he devised a new medium: cut paper collages.
- 1951Completed the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence aged 81, a project he considered his masterpiece. He designed everything from the stained glass to the vestments.
- 1954Died of a heart attack on 3 November in Nice aged 84. In his final years, the paper cut-outs created from his wheelchair proved among his most influential works.
Notable Works
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Where to See Henri Matisse
20 museums worldwide.
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203 works
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C., United States
Washington's National Gallery of Art holds 112 Matisses across oil, sculpture and the late paper cut-outs. The Open Window (1905) from Collioure sits among the earliest Fauve paintings in any American museum, giving the collection a starting point for the century of colour he set in motion.
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38 works
Hermitage Museum
Winter Palace, Russia
The Hermitage's 38 Matisse works come almost entirely from Sergei Shchukin's pre-1918 Moscow collection, nationalised after the revolution. Shchukin commissioned The Dessert: Harmony in Red (1907) directly; Music (1910) was painted as a pair with The Dance for his staircase in Moscow.
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41 works
Museum of Modern Art
Midtown Manhattan, United States
MoMA holds 41 Matisse works anchored by three career-defining canvases: The Red Studio (1911), Dance (I) (1909), and the late paper cut-out Memory of Oceania (1953). Alfred Barr acquired heavily in the 1930s, giving New York one of the strongest Matisse narratives outside France.
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Did henri matisse have siblings?
Yes, Henri Matisse had children. He married and started a family, and had two sons, Jean Gerard and Pierre.Did henri matisse paint cats?
Yes, Henri Matisse painted cats. He took his cats with him everywhere, from his studio to his expensive hotel rooms.Henri matisse art style cut-outs?
In his later career, Henri Matisse began making cut-outs. These shapes were carved from sheets of pre-painted paper and pinned to the wall, a technique he referred to as painting with scissors.How did henri matisse die?
Henri Matisse died in 1954[7] at the age of 85.What is henri matisse best known for?
Henri Matisse is best known for his paintings. Although he was also an outstanding sculptor and draughtsman, his paintings are the focus of much attention.When did henri matisse start painting?
Henri Matisse started painting when he was twenty years old. His mother gave him a box of paints to pass the time while he was recovering from appendicitis.Who was henri matisse inspired by?
Henri Matisse was influenced by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. The vivid colours and rhythmic compositions of Matisse made him one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century.Why did henri matisse become an artist?
Henri Matisse became an artist after recovering from appendicitis. His mother gave him a box of paints to pass the time, and he later described the experience as finding a kind of paradise, so he quit his job as a law clerk.Why did henri matisse start making cutouts?
In 1941[7], Henri Matisse had cancer surgery that left him largely confined to a wheelchair. As a result, he began making cut-outs from pre-painted paper, which he called painting with scissors.How did henri matisse create his work?
Henri Matisse created his work with vivid colours and rhythmic compositions. He was influenced by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.Is henri matisse still alive?
No, Henri Matisse died in 1954[7].
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Henri Matisse.
- [1] museum Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Städel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Musée d'art moderne de Paris Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] wikipedia Wikipedia: Henri Matisse Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [8] book guggenheim-futurismmodernfo00solo Used for: biography.
- [9] book guggenheim-guhe00solo Used for: biography.
- [10] book Nathalia Brodskaya, The Fauves Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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