1869 - 1954Henri Matisse

Color,

Emotion

And the move toward abstract art

Le Cateau-Cambresis

Le Cateau by Auguste Herbin - 1921

Northern France

5,481 flight between Phoenix and Paris, France

La Musee Matisse

How’d he start?•Born into a middle class family (father was a grain merchant & mother made hats & painted china)•Studied law, obtained degree•Became very ill – discovered the joy of painting

“The Painter’s Family” by Matisse, 1911

I’d ratherbe painting…

Persistence • In 1891 (at 22) went to Paris.

• Told “you’ll never learn to draw.”

• Father said, “You’ll starve!”

• Failed school entrance exam.

Woman Reading, 1894

InfluencesStudied “Old Masters” but …

Raphael

Rembrandt

da Vinci

Pablo, I thought you said you

paid the electric bill!?

O.K., the food is good but the lighting in here

is lousy…

I never noticed how many

leaves there are on that tree… Realism

Influences… also influenced by the “Impressionists”:

Paul Gauguin Paul Cezanne

Vincent van Gogh

Don’t you think these paintings are much more

cheerful?

Moving toward abstract…

The Vision After the Sermon, Paul Gauguin - 1888

The Mind’s EyeColor should express how you feel inside,

not what you see outside.Henri decided to

devote his

artistic life to

painting the

lovely aspects

of “God’s Story.”

Manet

Monet

Pissaro

Renoir

Impressionists in Paris

Juxtaposition

•Focused more on color and how it makes one feel.

•Less focus on “realism” and detail.

•Played with creating impact through color.

More Punch!

Color Wheel

Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666.

•Primary

•Secondary

•Complementary

Woman with the Hat, 1904

Realism

Or

Abstract?

Open Window, 1905

“Gold Fish” by Matisse, 1912

Note the placement of warm colors

against cool to create more

punch?

Odalisque with a Turkish Chair, 1912

1918 – self portrait

Purple Robe and Anemones, 1937

Less shading,

More solid, flat colors

Two Girls in a Yellow and Red Interior, 1947

Collage

“Finally I have found the most direct way to express myself – the paper cutout”

Chinese Fish, 1951

Key elements•Simplified shapes •Flat colors •Repeat patterns

The Process:

•Pick a subject •Create shapes that symbolize the elements within the subject •Cut out shapes spontaneously •Arrange (play with) the shapes

•People and plants are organic (curved)

•Backgrounds are geometric

•Rectangles act as framing devices

•Positive shapes in cut paper

•Negative shapes left from cut

•Space between shapes

•Scale (large vs small)

Shape Vocabulary

The Knife Thrower

Our Masterpiece

So what am I going to ask you to do?

•Cut out a cool shape – keep the “scrap.”•Make sure you stop cutting near the place where you began.

•Place both pieces on your paper like a puzzle.•Glue down ONLY the “positive” shape.

Flip over the negative shape & glue it down.

Do it again with the other piece,

but, this time, start on the opposite side.

Now add more interesting shapes

from the other colored scrap paper.

Don’t glue them down

until you’ve achieved a pleasing arrangement!

Sign your work -first name ONLY!

I have a word search for you when you are finished.