Henri Matisse was born on 31 December 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis. A French painter, printmaker and sculptor, Matisse was the leader of the Fauves, a group of artists who used bold, non-naturalistic colour, and who caused a stir at the Salon d'Automne of 1905. His works, such as The Dance, are known for their expressive colour and simplified form. He lived in Nice for years, and painted interiors and odalisques. After surgery in the 1940s limited his ability to stand at an easel, he developed cut-outs of coloured paper, which he called drawing with scissors. He designed the Chapel of the Rosary at Vence. His long rivalry and friendship with Picasso is a key theme in modern art.
Before and after
- 17 November 1869Construction of Suez Canal
- 22 November 1869Birth of André Gide
- 27 November 1869Discovery of 11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR
- from 8 December 1869 to 20 October 1870First Vatican Council
- 31 December 1869Birth of Henri Matisse
- 1870Founding of Commerzbank AG
- 1870Construction of Metropolitan Museum of Art
- from c. 1870s to 1900sGilded Age
- c. 1870sPublication of God Defend New Zealand
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- 1890Rise of Art Nouveau
- 28 December 1895The Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screening
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1909Rise of Futurism
- c. 1910sRise of Dada
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.