
Fauvism founder Henri Matisse (1869-1954) revolutionized modern art with his bold use of color and fluid draughtsmanship. Born in northern France, he came to painting at age 20 while recovering from appendicitis. His 1905 painting "Woman with a Hat" shocked viewers at the Salon d'Automne with its wild, non-naturalistic colors, prompting a critic to call Matisse and his colleagues "fauves" (wild beasts). Throughout his 60-year career, he pursued what he called "an art of balance, of purity and serenity," whether in paintings, drawings, sculptures, or his revolutionary paper cut-outs.
Matisse studied at the Académie Julian and later under Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts. A pivotal summer painting with André Derain at Collioure in 1905 launched Fauvism. Though the movement lasted only a few years, its liberation of color influenced all modern art. Matisse spent his later years in Nice, creating increasingly simplified forms. When illness prevented him from painting, he turned to paper cut-outs, calling the technique "painting with scissors." His design for the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence (1948-1951) represented the culmination of his spiritual aesthetic. Today, major collections exist at the Museum of Modern Art, the Hermitage, the Centre Pompidou, and the Musée Matisse in Nice.
12 paintings catalogued with museum locations

Henri Matisse
Private Collection, Unknown
Henri Matisse
Private Collection, Unknown

Henri Matisse, 1910
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Henri Matisse, 1953
Tate Modern, London, London
Henri Matisse, 1905
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
Henri Matisse, 1907
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore
Henri Matisse, 1937
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston
Henri Matisse, 1909
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
Henri Matisse, 1911
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
Henri Matisse, 1910
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
Henri Matisse, 1952
Henri Matisse, 1905
1 sculpture catalogued with museum locations. Browse all sculptures
8 museums display Matisse's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.

Chicago, United States
1 work on display

Unknown, Unknown
2 works on display

St. Petersburg, Russia
2 works on display
New York, USA
2 works on display

London, UK
1 work on display
Baltimore, United States
1 work on display
Houston, United States
1 work on display
San Francisco, United States
1 work on display
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