Henri Matisse

After his studies in law, young Matisse decided to take artistic career and move to Paris for his training of the academic method but also being in contact with the work of the Post-Impressionist Cézanne and Van Gogh and later of the Pointillist movement. He started to exhibit in the Salon des Indépendants and between 1904 and 1905 he had a creative breakthrough during his trip to south France and developing his personal style – known as Fauvism. After achieving his artistic success, he became more experimental with painting and sculpture, taking inspiration from his trips to Italy, Germany, Spain and North Africa. In 1921 he moved to Nice and continued his prolific career exploring female nudes and studio setting compositions. He also worked extensively in printmaking during these years. After a surgery in 1941 his health deteriorated and he was often confined to a bed in his studio: he continued working with drawings and sketches until his death in 1954 at the age of 84.