Today in Year Three we have been learning about Henri Matisse, a French artist who was born in 1869 and died in 1954. We learned that Matisse was born into a rich family and that he went to University to study for a Degree in Law. However, when he was 22 he was poorly with appendicitis and his mother bought him a box of paints to occupy him as he recovered. It was during his recovery that he developed a love for painting and he gave up Law to focus on art.
His father was not happy about this decision but Matisse went on to become very famous for his art work despite the fact that he was only accepted in Art College on his third application. His work was influenced by Cezanne. Matisse became ill in 1941 and was nursed back to health by some nuns but his illness resulted in him becoming confined to a wheelchair much of the time and it was at this point in his life that he stopped painting and began to produce collage known as ‘Paper Cut-Outs’, stating that he now painted with scissors. We modelled our work today on this technique and had the most amazing time creating our very own masterpieces.