French
painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer. From 1920 he enjoyed an
international reputation, as did Picasso, the foremost painter of his time, and
Matisse was the supreme master in the trends of the 20th century art which are
represented by calligraphic pattern and the abstract use of pure color. In 1981
he abandoned a legal career for painting, studying under Bouguereau and Moreau,
landscapes in a sober range of color reminiscent of Corot, but in the summer of
1896, painting in Brittany, he began to adopt the lighter palette of the
Impressionists.
In 1899 Matisse began experimenting with the Neo-Impressionist technique, which
was applied in one of his first major works the celebrated Luxe, Calme et
Volupte (Musee d'Orsay, Paris). This work was exhibited at the Salon des
Independants in 1905, and brought by Signac. During the same year he had been
painting with these and other friends from Moreau's studio, Matisse created the
sensational exhibition at the Salon d'Automne, which gave birth to the name
Fauves.
Matisse's first patrons included the American writer Gertrude Stein and the
Russian merchant Ivan Morosov. Unlike many of his great contemporaries, Matisse
did not attempt to express in his work the trouble times through which he lived
French
painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and designer. From 1920 he enjoyed an
international reputation, as did Picasso, the foremost painter of his time, and
Matisse was the supreme master in the trends of the 20th century art which are
represented by calligraphic pattern and the abstract use of pure color. In 1981
he abandoned a legal career for painting, studying under Bouguereau and Moreau,
landscapes in a sober range of color reminiscent of Corot, but in the summer of
1896, painting in Brittany, he began to adopt the lighter palette of the
Impressionists.