Henri Matisse had a considerable influence on the artists of his time, both figurative and abstract. A leader of Fauvism, he marked the art of the 20th century by the use of simplification, stylization, synthesis and color as the sole subject of painting.
Works by Henri Matisse currently available
Nu couché
May 1944
Charcoal on paper
38,1 x 57,2 cm
Signed and dated lower right
Price upon request. Contact us.
Biography of Henri Matisse
1898
Attended the workshop of Eugène Carrière. Met Derain and Vlaminck.
Married Amélie Noellie Parayre with whom he had 2 sons.
1902
Miss Weill sold his first paintings.
1904
Exhibited at Vollard. He met Cross who was 13 years older than him at Signac’s home in St Tropez. This was a rich and fruitful friendship for Matisse who was advised and influenced by Cross in his work in watercolours. Cross encouraged him to ignite his colours.
1905/06
His daughter Marguerite was his favourite model. He moved to Collioure and invited Derain to visit. After a fauve paroxysm, he evolved towards simplification. Shapes were reduced to the essential: The Dance (1909/1910) was painted for the Russian collector Serge Chtchoukine who bought 37 of his paintings in total.
1909
Voyage to Spain. Mixed motifs with backgrounds – decorative concept.
1910/12
Voyage to Tangiers.
1910/20
Feminine portraits flourished. A swarm of decorative elements due to the influence of the nabis and the Japanese prints of Utamaro.
1913
Exchanged ideas with Picasso.
1914/18
The chromatic movement darkens. Apparition of black.
1917
Spent part of the year in Nice and ended up moving there in 1921.
Lived a single life surrounded by models.
1919
Designed the costumes and decor of the ballet “The Song of the Nightingale” by request by Stravinsky and Diaghilev.
1929
Retrospective of his work in New York
1931/33
Worked on Dr. Barnes mural– The Dance.
1936/38
The Nice period was interspersed with trips to New York, Los Angeles and Tahiti.
1938/43
Lived in Cimiez, a suburb of Nice. Painted costume portraits.
1941
Had surgery for cancer treatment and was hospitalised in Lyon where he asked his nurse Monique Bourgeois to be his model. She later became a nun called Sister Jacques-Marie in the Dominican order and asked him to paint a fresco in the Rosary Chapel of Venice for her congregation.
1944
The Gestapo arrested his wife and daughter Marguerite. They managed to escape deportation and a very shocked Matisse painted a series of very moving portraits.
1945
Important retrospective at the Autumn Salon.
1952
Inauguration of the Matisse museum in his hometown of Cateau-Cambrésis.
1954
Death of Henri Matisse
