The famous French artist Matisse lived a long life, during which he created many paintings, graphic works, sculptural compositions from ceramics and panels, including using decoupage technique. His work was appreciated by contemporaries around the world, although often his innovative techniques became the cause of fierce debate.
Youth
Henri Matisse was born in northern France in 1869 in the family of a prosperous grain merchant. He inherited a love of art from his mother, who was fond of painting ceramics. Although, according to tradition, it was Henri (as the eldest son) who was to become the head of the family business, at the end of the Lyceum Henri Martin in Saint-Quentin, he went to the capital to study law at the famous School of Legal Sciences. In 1888, Matisse received a law degree and, returning to his hometown, began working as a clerk for a local attorney.
The first steps in art
Perhaps Matisse would have made a good career in law, if not for the case. The fact is that in 1889 the young man was hospitalized with an acute attack of appendicitis and was forced to spend two long months there after the postoperative period. To entertain her son, Madame Matisse gave him watercolors, and he began to while away time, copying colored postcards. This lesson so fascinated the young man that after discharge from the hospital, he told his parents about his firm intention to become an artist. Despite his father’s resistance, Henri enrolled in a drawing school in Tours, where draftsmen were trained to work in the textile industry. However, he continued to engage in law.
Study in Paris
In 1892, Matisse decides to devote himself to painting. To this end, he again goes to Paris and enters the Julian Academy, where he first studies with A. Bouguereau, and then at the School of Fine Arts with G. Moreau. The latter predicts a bright future for him and is one of the first to note the innovativeness of the young artist, expressed in bold combinations of different colors. During this period, the artist Matisse often spends days in the Louvre, copying the masterpieces of old masters and famous artists of the 19th century, which, according to his admission, made in his old age, helped the master a lot in his further work.
Impressionist period
Since 1896, Matisse’s paintings began to be exhibited in the famous salons of Paris, and he gained some fame among Parisian painting lovers. During this period, the artist is under the strong influence of the impressionists and their followers. Moreover, very often, talking about the works of post-impressionists, experts cite as an example some of the works that Matisse created: still lifes “Bottle of Shidam”, “Fruits and Coffee Pot”, “Dessert”, “Dishes and Fruits”.
In the next few years, the artist also begins to engage in sculpture and work in the technique of divisionism, which involves the use of separate dot strokes. In 1905, much controversy was caused by the manner of writing Matisse's painting “Luxury, Peace and Voluptuousness”, in which he combines the decorativeism of modernity with pointillism.
Fauvism
Considering the work of Matisse, one cannot but mention the new direction of painting, the founder of which was this artist. It's about Fauvism. He was talked about as an extremely interesting phenomenon after the fall Salon of 1905. For this exhibition, Matisse wrote several works, including the famous painting “A Woman in a Green Hat”. In addition, during the first decade of the 20th century, the artist became actively interested in African sculpture, Arabic decorative art and Japanese woodcut, and soon ethnic motifs began to penetrate his paintings. However, this did not prevent experts from considering the works of this period as an integral part of Fauvism.
"Matisse Academy"
In 1908, in Paris, the artist founded a private school of painting. It was called the Matisse Academy, and during the time he taught there, 100 students from France and other European countries managed to graduate. Education at school was free, as the artist did not pursue commercial goals and only wanted to pass on his vision of art to the younger generation.
In parallel with teaching, Matisse painted. So, he created three decorative panels for the Moscow house of the famous Russian collector S. I. Shchukin. In particular, his work “Dance”, which can be seen today in the Hermitage, is considered one of the most famous works of the painter.
Creativity Between Two World Wars
In 1920, the artist creates sketches of costumes and sets for the ballet “The Nightingale” by I. Stravinsky and writes the cycle “Odalischi” in imitation of Renoir. Matisse’s paintings of this period, in particular, “Compotress and Flowers,” bring him fame among American painting lovers. Ten years later, the artist goes to Tahiti, and then creates a panel depicting eight dancing figures for the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. In the process of working on sketches for this monumental work, he often uses the decoupage technique. Then he met his main muse - Lydia Delektorskaya, relations with which became the reason for divorce from Madame Matisse. Portraits of a young Russian emigrant, in which the artist expressed all the ardor of his late passion, today adorn the best museums in the world, they can be seen in Russia.
Life during the years of occupation
The Second World War was a difficult test for Matisse. By fate, he remains in Nice all alone, away from children, and his only consolation is Lydia Delektorskaya. Fortunately, the liberation of France by the allies saves the artist’s daughter and ex-wife, who were detained by the Gestapo for anti-fascist activities, from death.
“The chapel of the rosary”
In 1948-1953 the artist is working on the interior design of the roser chapel in Vence. Today it is known as the “Rosary Chapel”. In this last work, the master synthesized all the best that was in his work in previous years.
The walls of the chapel are covered with glazed white plates, which depict Saint Dominic in the form of a figure without a face 4.5 m high and the Holy Virgin with the baby Jesus. You can also see the scenes of the Last Judgment, made with black paint alone, and the chapel is crowned with an image of the sky above which an openwork cross hovers.
Features of creativity
Matisse’s paintings were usually written in series, as the artist, striving for excellence, created several versions of the same work at once. The main themes of the work are dancing, pastorals, musical instruments, beautiful vases with juicy fruits, exotic vessels, carpets and colorful fabrics, as well as views from the window.
To convey the pleasure of the color and beauty of external forms is the main goal that Matisse pursues. Pictures, the names of which you are already familiar with, today are decorations of private collections and museums around the world, as well as breaking price records at auctions.
Works exhibited in museums of our country
Are you interested in the technique in which Matisse wrote? Pictures (with names, of course) can be seen in Russia. In particular, several paintings by this artist, such as “Blue Pot and Lemon”, “Tableware on the Table”, “View of Collioure” and others, are exhibited in the Hermitage. In addition, the Museum. Pushkin kept such works as “Red Fish” and “Blue Pitcher”.