Art Grade Three
We are starting the year with a study of the artist Henri Matisse.
A story about Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was born in France in 1869. His father sold seeds and grain and his mother was a dressmaker. At the age of 20 Henri was studying to be a lawyer when he became very ill. He had to have surgery and was bedridden. Henri was very bored just lying around so his mother gave him a box of paints and brushes so he would have something to do. When he recovered he did not want to go back to law school, instead he went straight to art school!
Matisse was so good at painting that the school didn't help him so he decided to open his own school and show other artists how he painted. Art critics thought Henri and his friends painted like "Fauves" (a French work for wild beasts) because they used bold bright and unusual colors. Critics thought the "Fauvists" would never be successful artists, but they were wrong. Henri Matisse worked on his art for over 60 years and became one of the greatest artists of all time! Throughout his lifetime, he suffered from poor health, but that never stopped him from creating art! Many pictures were painted from his sick bed so they show the inside of his room and a view of the outdoors through an open window, the rooms had patterned wallpaper, curtains, tablecloths and many everyday objects, there was so much to look at in Matisse's pictures! He used rich colors and shapes and loved to paint people too. Henri was also known for trying a new style by painting paper and then cutting it out and pasting it into the painting.
Matisse was married and had three children. He loved to travel and explore other countries and often was influenced by those cultures and their folk art. He died in 1954 he was 85!
Henri Matisse is one of my very favorite artists, he has given us new and colorful, creative ideas to use in our own art, and his works of art are treasured in museums all over the world!
Recommended Books:
Henri Matisse (Getting to Know the Wrold's Greatest Artsits) by Mike Venezia
Matisse for Kids by: Margaret Hyde
To find out more about Henri Matisse check out these websites:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/matisse_henri.html
http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Art/Matisse/Matisse.shtmlMatisse
We started our study of Matisse looking at and discussing his paper cutouts. He called this technique "drawing with scissors!"
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Memory of Oceania by Henri Matisse, 1952-53. image borrowed fromhttp://www.moma.org/collection |
The Swimming Pool by Henri Matisse, 1952 image borrowed from http://www.moma.org/collection |
Maquette for Nuit de Noel by Henri Matisse, 1952 image borrowed from http://www.moma.org/collection |
Here are some of our works of art inspired by Henri Matisses' cut paper works of art!
Next, we will study the paintings that made Matisse famous.
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Interior with a Violin Case, Nice by Henri Matisse, 1918-19. image borrowed fromhttp://www.moma.org/collection |
The Red Room by Henri Matisse, 1908 image borrowed from abm-enterprises.net/redroom.htm |
Purple Robe and Anemones by Henri Matisse, 1937 image borrowed from http://www. |
How would you design a room with something sitting on a table, a window with a view outside, and many patterns and colors?
Here are some of our works inspired by Henri Matisses' paintings!