Skip to content
Artwork Guide

Henri Matisse

Born 1869, Le Cateau-Cambresis, France; died Nice, France, 1954

August 2018

Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in northern France. While he was working in a law office as a young clerk, he became very ill with appendicitis. As he was recovering, his mother gave him a paint set to keep him occupied in the hospital. It was around this time that he decided to become an artist. He went to art school in Paris, and he became famous after an exhibition in 1905. As an adult, he traveled the world and made many paintings. Even when he fell seriously ill again in his 80s, he continued to make art, and worked until the end of his life.


Artwork Guides
See All