Introduction
Henry Matisse is one of the famous French artist, particularly known for the unique use of color and fluid as well as unique draughtsmanship. Although he was essentially as a painter, he was he also ventured into printmaking, draughtsmanship, as well as sculpting (Sayre, 18). Furthermore, together with Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso, are considered as the three main artists who engineered in the revolutionary developments with the plastic arts segment in the 20th century. In the early stages of his career, Matisse was branded a Fauve (wild beast), but was later on appreciated for defending the cultural traditions in French paintings (Dabrowski, 45). For various reasons, Matisse his recognized as is mastery of the communicative language of color as well as drawing, exhibited in his various works covering over a half-century, through which he become to be recognized as the leading figure in the contemporary art.
Early Life and Education
Matisse was born in 1887 to a wealthy family. His father was a successful grain merchant, whereas his mother came from a wealthy, tanner’s family. Surprisingly, although he grew to be one of the most famous artists, he never took art as his first career choice considering he first trained as a lawyer. Having trained as a lawyer, he initially worked as a court administrator in Paris at the end of his law studies (Sayre, 45). However, his passion in painting started in 1889, when her mother presented him art supplies at the time of rehabilitation after an attack of appendicitis. According to Matisse, he felt like this new venture was “like paradise,” because he finally got an opportunity to do what he liked most (Dabrowski, 49). However, this as a big disappointment to his father, who hoped one day his son, could take after him in terms of career.
He moved to Paris to build his new career, and joined Academie Julian to study art, where he was trained by Gustave Moreau and William-Adolphie Bouguereau. He started with still-life and landscapes painting in a traditional style. Due to his passion in art, he showed early signs of great things to come later on in his life based on the great proficiency he attained at this stage. His perfection was influenced by the works of early artists such as Nicolas Poussin, Edourd Manet, and Antoine Watteau (Sayre, 51). Nevertheless, his career moved to another level following his visit to Australia to learn from John Peter Russell, whom he later claimed to be his greatest teacher and mentor in his arts career. From Russell, Matisse learnt what is commonly known as Impressionism, which appreciates the use of color theory. He was later to visit London, following Pissaro Camile’s advice, to learn from J.M.W Turner. He returned to Paris in 1899, and worked along with other famous artists such as Andre Derain, Albert Marquet, and Jean Puy, whom also added value to his experience in art (Dabrowski, 71).
His Works
Although Matisse produced several works at the early stages of his career, his fame came to the limelight because of part of his unique arts. The first painting was the Blue Pot and Lemon, which he produced in 1897. This was followed by the Fruit and Coffeepot, produced in 1898. Third was the Vase of Sunflowers, created in 1898; and lastly, the Crockery on a Table, produced in 1900. All these works are still displayed in Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg in Russia. He later produced several other paintings, which earned him the recognition as one of the greatest artists in the history of painting (Dabrowski, 77).
Arguably, Matisse’s career falls under various periods that changed from a stylistic perspective, although his fundamental objective never changed. In his entire career, he was motivated in discovering the indispensable character of things, as well as producing an art of “balance, purity, and serenity.” However, his style of work was considerably influenced through the constant change of studio environments (Matisse and Jack, 89). Between 1908 and 1913, he concentrated on art and decoration, during which he created a number of large canvases including Reclining Odalisque; Dance and Music, mural size commissions, and a group of outstandingly colored Moroccan paintings (Sayre, 69 ). Between 1913 and 1917, he concentrated on experimentation of dialogue with Picasso Pablo and Juan Gris’ Cubism. The result of this composition was ascetic, nearly structurally geometrical and nearly abstraction and this could be clearly seen in the Yellow Curtain, View of Notre-Dame, Bathers by a River, and The Piano Lesson (Dabrowski, 89).
He made a big step in his art career in 1917, when he moved to and settled in Nice, the southern region of France. Between 1917 and 1930, an odalisque dressed in oriental costume or the female figure remained his principal subject. In addition to painting, Matisse was also obsessed with drawing, which he explored and put into test in his entire life. He appreciated drawing because it is the most direct way artists express their thoughts (Sayre, 73 ). Particularly, drawing helped him in working out compositional and stylistic issues or new ideas. In the 1930s, he produced unique runs of pen-and-ink drawings, and in 1940s he conceived the Themes et Variations sequence, thoughtfully drawn auxiliary works in stylish, unshaded line, re-counting simplified forms of figures of female or still lifes. His drawings took another perspective in early 1950s, when he changed to using bolder, thicker contour line, more simplified forms and empty of detail (Dabrowski, 109).
As mentioned initially, Matisse was also interested in sculptures. Although not very common in his art work, he used sculpture in finding a solution to pictorial issues to as an inspiration to painting. A large section of his sculptures were finished between 1900 and 1910. A point to be noted is that he as well worked in series in his sculpture works, using the form and streamlining it with time. In this segment, some of his famous works include the Large Seated Nude, Jeannette Heads, and Back Reliefs (Sayre, 81). At the later stages of his career, he also ventured into graphic arts and book illustration, an area that he ventured into while in his sixties. Some of his works in this area include the Poesies, and his book Jazz. His career as an artist was crowned through his assignment for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, where he was responsible for wall decorations, furniture, Stations of the Cross, stained-glass windows, and the altercloths and vestments. The overall result of this project clearly depicts Matisse’s creative genius (Dabrowski, 121).
Fauvism
Fauvism emerged in 1900 and went on until after 1910. It is a style of art that was introduced by Andre Derain and Matisse, two prominent figures in the history of art. Matisse’s influence, which led to the Fauvism, emerged from his affection for bright and expressive colour, and this could be clearly seen in his work St. Tropez painting in 1904 (Bock-Weiss, and Henri, 51). His paintings evolved further, following his working together with Andre Derain. At this period, his paintings were branded through flat shapes and controlled lines, as well as utilization of pointillism less rigorously than in his initial work (Sayre, 90). Although they were rivals, Matisse and Andre Derain were later recognized as the pioneers of Fauves, each with his own flowers. Other members of Fauvism include Raoul Dufy, Braque Gearges, as well as Maurice de Vlaminck. Nevertheless, Fauvism movement became less influential in 1906, a factor which did not affect Matisse’s career as an artist. Through his constant travelling visiting various places throughout the world, he continued growing over time, adding the new experience in his paintings, which made his work more differentiated from the works of his fellow painters (Dabrowski, 111).
Last years
His last project of his career was the decorations he made in the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence, which is commonly known as the Matisse Chapel. Matisse created a developed a museum in 1951 as a dedication of his work, and currently it is among the largest museums in France. His life became complicated following a separation with his wife of almost four decades. With time, his health became deteriorated following surgery, which made him use a wheelchair until he finally died at the age of 84 in 1954 (Dabrowski, 177).
Legacy
Matisse managed to create a legacy out of his famous paintings. Some of his the paintings that gave limelight of his art include the Still Life with Geraniums (1910), and the Plum Blossoms (1948). His sculpture, Reclining Nude, is among the most expensive piece of art, having been sold about $ 9.2 million in 2002 (Sayre, 100). His son, Pierre Matisse constructed an art gallery in New York, which exhibited various artists from throughout the globe, but mainly from Europe and America. Both his grandson and granddaughter are famous artist in the United States (Dabrowski, 96).
Conclusion
Works Cited
Bock-Weiss, Catherine, and Henri Matisse. Henri Matisse: Modernist against the Grain. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009. Print.
Dabrowski, Magdalena. "Henri Matisse (1869–1954)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm
Matisse, Henri, and Jack D. Flam. Matisse on Art. Berkeley [u.a.: Univ. of Calif. Press, 1995. Print.
Sayre, Henry M. The Humanities: Culture, Continuity & Change. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print
