Fleurs et feuilles, 1942 by Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse is considered one of the most influential French artists of the twentieth century, renowned for his radical stylistic choices, later known as Fauvism. He was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France. After studying law in Paris, he attended the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts. His early works reflected a more naturalistic style, but after studying the Impressionists and the Pointillism of artists like Georges Seurat, his style became increasingly experimental. Matisse explored a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic art, and paper cut-outs. By the mid-1900s, he had developed his mature Fauvist style, characterized by dynamic pieces that employed large swaths of bright colour in flat applications of paint with bold outlines. His career as an artist can be divided into three distinct stages: the 1910s were marked by abstract paintings; the 1920s, known as his “Nice period”, featured decorative and sunlit interiors; and in the last decade of his career, he focused on innovative paper cut-outs, including works like "Blue Nude II" from 1952. 

Matisse's works received critical acclaim during his lifetime and continue to have a lasting impact. In 1951, he held a retrospective of his works at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Three years later, a museum dedicated to his art, the Musée Matisse, opened in his hometown. Today, his works can be found in institutions such as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the MoMA in New York, the National Gallery in London, and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, among others.