Matisse, Henri

1869 – He was born as the son of a grain merchant in the Picardy region of northern France. He studied law and worked as a law clerk.

1892 – He gave up his career as a lawyer. He attended art classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and dabbled in different styles. He then was influenced by the impressionist and post-impressionist painters.

1905 – He finally found his own style characterized by daring, bright colors executed in a broad brush stroke. He also painted one of his best paintings, The Joy of Life. It is considered to be one of the most important works of Twenty Century art and was bought by the famous art collector Dr. Albert C. Barnes.

1907 – He exchanged paintings with Pablo Picasso who is one of his admirers.

1917 – After World War I, he had gained a high reputation and was an internationally recognized artist. Then he left Paris and settled in Nice in the South of France.

1925 – He received the French Legion of Honor award.

1941 – He had an abdominal cancer surgery which had a devastating effect on his health and ability to paint.

1954 – He died on the 3rd day of November in Nice as an internationally well known and highly reputable artist.