Henri Matisse- drawing with scissors

"Icarus" - Henri Matisse

In this lesson we studied primarily the cut-out work of Henri Matisse. We began by discussing the life and art of Matisse. Theartstory.org is a great place to find information on specific artists and movements within art history. We learned how Matisse discovered his love for art during his recovery from appendicitis when he was 20 years old. From that point forward Matisse concentrated entirely on his art and with expression through color.

We watched this video about Fauvist art. This allowed us to see how differently color is used in portraiture and landscapes done by Matisse and his Fauvist friends. We talked about how color can be used to convey feelings, etc. 

Finally, we discussed how another illness in Matisse's later years led him to express himself through cut-outs rather than painting. Matisse was confined to a wheelchair at the end of his life and found painting difficult. Now he would begin to "draw with scissors"!  

We looked at cut-out art by Matisse in  the book "OOOH Matisse" as well as other library books. We also watched this video about his work named "Icarus" pictured above. We had a final discussion on color and positive and negative space and how each could effect the outcome of our art...

Now we were ready to work.

Here are some of our cut-out works

When our work was complete we had a terrific critique. What went right? What would we change? What is our story about our art vs. how others interpret it? How did we use color? How did we use positive vs. negative space. etc...