Painter, draftsman, sculptor and engraver, Henri Matisse was born in Le Cateau , December 31, 1869
From 1887 to 1889 he studied law at the Faculty of Paris . In twenty years , forced to stay in bed after an appendicitis attack , his mother gave him a paint box , this is how he discovered the pleasure of painting . In 1891 he devoted himself to painting and was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1895. A year later he made his first exhibition.
In 1905 "At the Salon d'Automne " , Matisse and other painters exhibit their paintings with flat areas of pure color and contrast , even garish , which will cause a scandal, the art critic Louis Vauxcelles compare the place to a "cage of wild beasts ", the term « Fauvisme » was immediately adopted by the painters themselves. Matisse has emerged as the leader of the movement and this period will mark the recognition of his work .
Gradually Matisse that stands out from other movements by its use of the simplification, stylization and color as the only subject of the painting became a major figure of the twentieth century . Pablo Picasso , who was his friend considered him as a great rival while Andy Warhol him , "wanted to be Matisse "
In 1916 , he discovered the Riviera it repeatedly rub to settle and end his days.
In 1963, a museum in his name was dedicated by the city of Nice.
