Matisse was born in France in 1869. He was the son of wealth grain
merchant allowing him to attend Law school. He later had appendicitis.
Based on doctor’s orders to relax, his mother bought him art supplies
and he began to paint. He found a “paradise” in art. To his father’s
dismay he attended Academie Julian in Parts to study art.
At the start of his career he focused on still life and colorful
landscapes. Matisse came across the work of Vincent van Gogh. This
inspired him to change styles completely. In 1911 Matisse created
what is considered to be one of masterpieces “Red Studio”. The
painting is not impressive to the untrained eye, but it was a
breakthrough in art history because he did things with color that have
never been done before. The paint is current in a collection in New
York.