Henri Matisse (1869-1954) a French artist, painter, lithographer, sculpture & book designer. He was, along with Pablo Picasso, one of the artists leading the avant-garde movement during the early years of the twentieth century. Matisse was early known as a Fauvist (Wild Beast); a painting style of pure colors used in a direct and forceful way. Yet despite his radical approach to color and form, Matisse’s subjects were often traditional: scenes of his own studio, portraits of friends and family, arrangements of figures in rooms or landscapes.
