essential artist of the twentieth century, henri matisse was born in 1869 in cateau-cambrésis and died in 1954 in nice. he made his debut under the aegis of gustave moreau and after having studied at the national school of fine arts, he attended the academy career where he met derain. he tries his hand at pointillism, fauvism, cubism. his colorful work is influenced by many trips. he acquired international fame during his lifetime, thanks to exhibitions across the atlantic, commissioned by alfred stieglitz.

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in the 1940s, matisse could no longer paint or practice techniques which required thinners (water or oil). he then invents the technique of cut-out papers, which he can, in his bed, cut with scissors, papers that his assistants place and stick in the places desired by the artist. as he liked to say, matisse achieved the feat of "drawing with scissors".

“the cut-out paper allows me to draw in color. for me this is a simplification. instead of drawing the outline and installing the color there - one modifying the other - I draw directly in the color, which is all the more measured as it is not transposed. this simplification guarantees precision in the union of the two means which become one. " henri matisse