Ashley St. John Artist Biography
Block 2 B/D 11/3/15

Henri-Emile-Benoit Matisse was a famous french artist. He was born December 31st, 1869 and died November 3rd, 1954. He was raised in a small town in northern France named Bohain-en-Vermandois. His artistic talents were first acknowledged when, at the age of 21, he began painting while he was recovering from an illness. Matisse moved to Paris in 1891 to pursue some more artistic training. In the mid 1890’s, he began showing his work in large group exhibitions in Paris, such as places like the traditional Salon de la Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Henri Matisse traveled to London and to Corsica and finally in 1898 married Amelie Parayre that he would later have three children with. …show more content…
In 1904, he had his first one-man exhibition at the gallery of dealer Ambroise Vollard. In the following years, 1904-1905, he had a major creative breakthrough. He began painting bright, light-dappled canvases like a few of his most famous pieces Open Window and Woman With a Hat (1905). He created many different types of pieces of artwork, from painting to making sculptures to printmaking. His main subjects though, were figures in landscapes, portraits, and interior views, his use of brilliant colors and exaggerated form were to express strong emotions. For this reason he became one of the most influential artists of the 20th