Henri Matisse for kids part 1

Art History and Artists

Henri Matisse

Biography >> Art History 

• Occupation: Artist, Painter
• Born: December 31, 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France
• Died: November 3, 1954 in Nice, France
• Famous works: The Dinner Table, Woman with a Hat, The Desert: Harmony in Red, Le Rifain assis, The Red Studio
• Style/Period: Fauvism, Modern Art

Biography: 

Where did Henri Matisse grow up? 

Henri Matisse grew up in the northern part of France. His father was a grain merchant and strict with Henri. He went to school in Paris and studied law. In 1888 he passed the bar and took a job as a law clerk. 

Becoming a Painter 

In 1889 Henri came down with appendicitis. During his recovery his mother got him some art supplies for something to do. He fell in love with painting and art. He decided he wanted to become an artist. His father was very disappointed. 

Henri began to explore painting. His mother encouraged him not to follow the normal rules of art, but to try out new things and to paint his emotions. He spent a year studying art at the Academie Julian in Paris, but left to train under the artist Gustave Moreau, where he could explore more modern styles of painting. 

In 1897, Matisse met painter John Peter Russell. Russell introduced him to impressionism and to the work of van Gogh. It opened up a new world to Matisse. 

Early Works 

Matisse painted his first masterpiece in 1897. It was called The Dinner Table. He continued to paint being influenced by artists such as van Gogh and Cezanne. He studied the works of J.M.W. Turneras well and even took on some of the style of Pointillism from Seurat. 

Fauvism 

In the early 1900s Matisse developed a new style. He began to paint with bright masses of colors that were freely applied. He used the colors to express emotion often using colors that had nothing to do with the natural colors of the subject. In 1905 Matisse, together with fellow artists Maurice de Vlaminck and Andre Derain, exhibited their new style to the world. One critic called them "fauves", which meant "wild beasts". The name stuck and their style of art was called Fauvism. 

Woman with a Hat 

One of Matisse's 1905 paintings was Woman with a Hat. In this painting you can see that he uses bright and unnatural colors to paint the woman. It brings a different level of emotion to the painting. Although Matisse was initially criticized by some for this new style, Woman with a Hat was purchased by major art collectors, giving Matisse renewed confidence. 

 
Woman with a Hat
(Click image to see larger version)

The Red Studio 

The Red Studio was painted by Matisse in 1911, near the end of the Fauvism movement. During this time he began experimenting with flat areas of color. The painting is of Matisse's art studio. The paintings shown were his most recent paintings at the time. You can see that Matisse was not worried about making the painting look like a studio, but rather to create an interesting arrangement of colors and shapes. Go here to see a picture of The Red Studio. 

Cutouts 

In his later years, Matisse began to experiment with cutouts. He would cut out colored paper and make collages. He released a book of these cutouts called Jazz that was very popular. Some of his cutouts have become famous pieces of artwork including The Blue Nude, The Knife Thrower, andIcarus. 

Legacy 

Matisse is considered one of the founders of Fauvism art. He is also considered one of the leading figures of modern art as his paintings and art influenced many artists throughout the 20th century. 

Interesting Facts about Henri Matisse

• He was good friends with artist Pablo Picasso. They later became rivals.
• Major patrons of Matisse included Americans Gertrude Stein and the Cone Sisters. They purchased a number of his paintings. He also introduced them to Picasso, whose paintings they also purchased.
• He ran a small art school called Academie Matisse in Paris between 1908 and 1911.
• Some of his paintings have sold for over $20 million.
• Movie star Al Pacino is set to play the role of Henri Matisse in a movie called Masterpiece.

More examples of Henri Matisse's Art: 

Le Mur Rose (Click to see larger version)

Woman Reading (Click to see larger version)

Note: Any artwork used that is not public domain is used under the U.S. fair use laws because this is an educational article about the painting or image. The images used are low resolution. If you own the copyright and have issues with us using the artwork, please contact us and it will be removed promptly. 

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Leonardo da Vinci

Biography

Leonardo da Vinci

Self Portrait by Leonardo da Vinci

• Occupation: Artist, Inventor, Scientist
• Born: April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy
• Died: May 2, 1519 in Amboise, Kingdom of France
• Famous works: Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Vitruvian Man
• Style/Period: High Renaissance

• Leonardo Da Vinci Facts

  Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 and he was Italian. He never married nor had children. Unbelievably his assistant inherited his entire estate.
  He lived during the Renaissance era, which was all about important developments and discoveries in areas such as art and science.
  The name Leonardo da Vinci translates to ‘Leonard from the town of Vinci’. That sounds quite weird, but that was how they named people back then. Imagine if your name was Jack from the town of Philadelphia…that would be quite a name.
  

  What was he famous for?

  Well actually quite a lot; he was a brilliant artist, sculptor, draftsman, inventor, scientist, mathematician, engineer, costume maker, writer and musician and he was also very interested in the laws of science and nature, which greatly influenced his work.
   Fun and Creative Activities For Kids!
  He is without a doubt known as one of the greatest painters of all time, and quite possibly the most talented person that has ever lived. Historian Helen Gardner said: “… His mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote.”
  Wow, that’s quite a statement to make, that he was ‘superhuman’. He must have been good!

  What was his childhood like?

  He was the child of a respected notary, who is a person who can do all sorts of legal things, and a young peasant woman, but he was raised by his single father and stepmothers.
  At 14 he learnt and worked for an artist Verrocchio, where he learnt loads of technical skills, including metalworking, leather arts, carpentry, drawing and sculpting.
  By age 20, he had qualified as a master artist in the Guild of Saint Luke, which was like a prestigious association that was for painters and artists, and now had his very own workshop.
  

  Leonardo’s Interests

  Because Leonardo’s interests were so varied, he got distracted really easily and often wouldn’t complete a project. During the 17 years he spent working for the Duke of Milan (1482-1499) he completed only six works, including the famous picture The Last Supper.
  Dozens of paintings and projects were never completed.
  Leonardo was one of the first Italians to use oil paint. He was left-handed and used a mirror to write backwards because a quill pen was easier to pull from right to left than actually push it.
  It also made it harder for others to dig through his notes and steal his ideas. It’s incredibly hard to write backwards and not many people can do it. Apparently he wore pink to make his complexion look fresh. That’s really funny! Maybe you should try wearing pink and see if it helps.
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  What else did he do?

  He loved animals and was a vegetarian throughout his life. He also liked to buy caged birds so that he could set them free. That’s nice!
  He hated war, but besides this he worked as a military engineer to invent advanced and deadly weapons, drawing plans for the first armored car in 1485.
  He also invented the bicycle 300 years before it appeared on the road and created an inflatable tube so people could float on water. Ah, no now we know who to thank for that awesome creation that is heaps of fun.
  
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  His remarks and inventions were recorded in 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, including designs for the first parachute, first helicopter, first airplane, first tank, and first repeating rifle, swinging bridge, paddleboat and first motorcar. He was very interested in flight.
  Many of his machines have since been built and tested, with some being successful and others weren’t so successful.
  He spent a lot of time studying the flight of birds, showing his ideas in great detail. He was very interested in the human body was apparently trying to find where the soul was.
  His drawings of the body including bone and muscular structures are some of the first on human record. He is considered by many to be the father of modern science.
  

  The Vitruvian Man

  A famous drawing by da Vinci called The Vitruvian Man describes the relationship between human proportions and geometry.
  Da Vinci is world famous for his paintings and the way he used light in his portraits. His most famous painting is the Mona Lisa, which was valued in 1962 at US$100 million and a suggested value today of US$780 million. It hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris behind bulletproof glass and is regarded as a national treasure.
  People don’t know for sure who she was, but there were lots of ideas, like it was the real-life wife of a merchant, others or even a self-portrait of himself as a woman.
  He was asked to paint it but he never delivered it and kept it till he died on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67 in Amboise, Touraine which is today, Indre-et-Loire, France. Amazingly it took him about ten years just to paint the Mona Lisa’s lips.
  
  In 1994 Microsoft founder Bill Gates purchased da Vinci’s famous scientific writings, the ‘Codex Leicester’ which contained explanations of water movement, fossils and the moon amongst other things.
  One of da Vinci’s last commissioned works was a mechanical lion that could walk and open its chest to reveal a bouquet of lilies. It would be cool to have one of those!
  A famous saying by da Vinci is, “The eye sees a thing more clearly in dreams, than the imagination awake.”
  He was one very clever man, and hope you’ve learnt heaps about him.

Edgar Degas brief biography and artwork. Great for kids and esl

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Henri Matisse for kids part 1

In this Henri Matisse Art Lesson, students will learn about the life and art of Henri Matisse, and create a cut out collage inspired by his work.

“From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves.” – Henri Matisse 1869-1954

Grade Level: 3rd – 5th grade
Time Required: 2 45-min. class periods

National Core Arts Standards
Creating: #1, 2, 3
Presenting/Producing: #5, 6
Responding: #8, 9
Connecting: #11
http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/

Materials:
Faber-Castell Construction Paper
Other colored paper
Scissors
Glue

Vocabulary:
Compose
Organic
Stylized
Geometric
Tints/Shades
Complimentary
Balance

DRAWING WITH SCISSORS, by Keesia Johnson and Jane O’Connor, illustrated by Jessie Hartland

Drawing With Scissors is an interesting and creatively written story of the life of one of the art world’s greatest masters, Henri Matisse, and his wonderful artistic contribution that had made our culture rich.

After sharing and discussing several examples of Matisse’s famous cut-out collages, students learn his process of “drawing with scissors,” and create their own playful cut-out collage in the same manner.

Begin by having students decide on a theme for their project. They can create a simple scene, (this artwork inspired by Matisse’s Garden) or an abstract piece of art. Have them choose a background color and palette of 4 colors along their with tints and shades.

Next, demonstrate how Matisse would cut directly into the paper using his “scissors as his pencil.” Show how to cut simple fluid, curvy shapes and spirals, as well as geometric and stylized shapes. Remember, no pencils allowed!

Students then arrange their cut pieces onto their background. Demonstrate how to loosely compose their art, overlapping shapes, and being mindful of complimentary color choices. Show how to create an overall visual balance.

When compositions are final, glue pieces in place. Show students how to apply glue to the back of the pieces rather than the background. Finally, students trim excess pieces from the edges and give a creative title to their artwork.

We’d love to see your student or child’s artwork!  Tag us on social media #GreatArtStartsHere

To download the Henri Matisse Drawing with Scissors Art Lesson in a PDF file, click here.