Henri Matisse, French artist, was a leader of the Fauve group. He was highly regarded as one of the great formative figures in 20th century art and a master of the use of color and form to convey emotional expression.
Matisse discovered his artistic abilities when he had been bedstrucken with an attack of appendicitis. He became very fascinated and intrigued by painting and continued his interest by moving to Paris to study art formally.
Some of his first influences were those of Gauguin, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. He studied their work very closely. Soon he adopted the technique of pointillism and began experimenting with affiliating small strokes of unalloyed pigment to produce the strongest, most powerful visual palpitations of fierce color. Matisse gave color absolute freedom, letting it guide the way. "I feel through color, and so by color that my canvass will always be organized." Matisse's work explored an explosion of pictorial energy.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Oil on Canvas (244 x 23...
Henri Matisse. Woman with a Hat, 1905. San Francis...
Woman Reading, Oil on canvas. In the Cone collecti..."Colors must be thought out." According to Picasso, "Matisse has color and is searching for drawing." Matisse's travels were always the inspiration for his works. As Amy Freeman Lee believes, "the creative process begins in intuition, with a bringing into consciousness and awareness of experience gained in something other than through sensory perception." Matisse enjoyed painting not only the real world, but the spiritual world as well. Matisse wanted to share his findings and knowledge. He always stressed the significance of instinct and intuition on the construction of a work of art. Matisse did not merely see with his eyes. He let his eyes absorb what was around him and that is how he learned. His eyes were the brains behind his art and he put his hands to work in order to create the masterpieces. Like Louise Nevelson, Matisse let the energy...