Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) was a French painter, graphic artist and sculptor. Along with Pablo Picasso, he is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative artists of the 20th century.
Matisse combined agile, playful composition with a bold approach to colour, radically departing from the academic traditions of his time. With his Fauvist works, in which bright colours are juxtaposed undiluted, he stood at the cradle of modern visual art. His oeuvre is relatively versatile, consisting of paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures, all of which reflect his quest for simplicity and harmony. Although Matisse is sometimes associated exclusively with Fauvism, his style evolved greatly throughout his career, from decorative portraits and landscapes to the revolutionary cutting technique (papiers gouaches) in his later years.
