Matisse and Picasso

Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in France, he first started painting when he was sick and his mother brought him paints to help him feel better, he found that he loved painting and decided to become an artist. At first he painted still-life paintings and landscapes. Around 1900 the Fauvism movement began which Matisse was a leader of. Fauvism was a type of painting that emphasized strong and vivid colors, Matisse’s paintings became very colorful, sometimes not considering the actual color of the subject. Even after the Fauvism movement ended Matisse continued to paint very colorful artwork. 

Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Spain, his father was an artist and introduced him to art when he was very young, and from the beginning it was obvious that Picasso had considerable artistic skills. When he was younger he painted very traditionally. But later his paintings started to change, becoming less realistic looking. Picasso had many different periods, such as his blue period where he painted mostly in shades of blue, of very dark and depressing subject matter. His rose period which had lighter and more pink and orange colors while being more upbeat. The most famous one though was probably the Cubism movement which Picasso helped found. Cubism took the subjects apart and analyzed the shapes until, as with some of Picasso’s paintings, it can sometimes be hard to perceive what the subject is.

Matisse and Picasso knew each other and are sometimes compared, both artists painted and drew, although Matisse painted from nature while Picasso worked from memory. Both artists were very influential in their movements and have influenced many artists over the years.

Matisse, Women Reading, 1894

Matisse, Woman with Hat, 1905

Matisse, Les toits de Collioure 

Matisse, Dishes and Fruit, 1901

Picasso, Boy with a Pipe, 1905 

Picasso, The Old Guitarist, 1903

Picasso, Violin, 1911  

Picasso, The Poet, 1911