Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was born on December 31, 1869 in Le Cateau Cambresis, France. He first got a degree in law and then decided to becoe an artist. He studied for three years with Gustave Moreau. He learned a lot by copying paintings by other great artists, such as Raphael.
Matisse was one of the founders of a type of art called Fauvism. He liked to do paintings with people because it made it easy for him to express his feelings about life. He especially liked to paint women, because he said they held the answer to the mystery of life. Matisse also did many pieces of art using cut paper. He was also a sculptor and an etcher.

Because Matisse had cancer, he became confined to a wheelchair. From his wheelchair, he completed one of his most famous works, painting the inside of the Chapelle du Rosaire. Matisse died in 1954.