Henri Matisse

1869 – 1954 · died at about 85^[1][2]

Art

Fun Facts About Henri Matisse

• Henri Matisse studied law and only started painting in 1889, when his mother brought him art supplies while he recovered from appendicitis.^[1]
• The name Fauves ("wild beasts") came from critic Louis Vauxcelles, who in 1905 called a sculpture in a room of Matisse's group "Donatello among the wild beasts."^[1]
• Matisse met Pablo Picasso, 11 years his junior, at Gertrude Stein's salon in 1906, and the two became lifelong friends as well as rivals.^[1][3][4]
• As an unknown student, Matisse was given a Vincent van Gogh drawing by the painter John Russell, a friend of Van Gogh, and he switched from earth colors to bright ones.^[1][5][6]
• Matisse's chapel in Vence honored his former nurse, Monique Bourgeois, who had answered his ad for a nurse and later became a Dominican nun.^[1]
• Matisse's first recorded use of paper cut-outs, his major medium late in life, was in 1919, in his decor designs for Igor Stravinsky's opera Le chant du rossignol.^[1][7][8]
• Henri Matisse was alive at the same time as Xi Jinping — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1953–1954).^{[1][2][9][10]}
• Henri Matisse and Mahatma Gandhi were both born in 1869.^{[1][2][11][12]}

Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.^[1]

Contemporaries

Frank Lloyd Wright

85 yr overlap

Bertrand Russell

82 yr overlap

George Bernard Shaw

81 yr overlap

Winston Churchill

80 yr overlap

Mahatma Gandhi

79 yr overlap

Carl Jung

79 yr overlap

Albert Schweitzer

79 yr overlap

Thomas Mann

79 yr overlap

Henry Ford

78 yr overlap

Max Planck

78 yr overlap

H.G. Wells

77 yr overlap

Orville Wright

77 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Henri Matisse

When was Henri Matisse born?

Henri Matisse was born on December 31, 1869, and died on November 3, 1954.

How old was Henri Matisse at death?

Henri Matisse was born on December 31, 1869, and died on November 3, 1954, at age 84.

What was Henri Matisse known for?

Henri Matisse was known for: Leader of Fauvism, master of color and cut-outs. Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.

Who was alive at the same time as Henri Matisse?

Henri Matisse's closest contemporary was Frank Lloyd Wright. Their lives overlapped for 85 years.