Devenir Matisse, 1890-1911 : Ce Que Les Maîtres Ont De Meilleur Becoming Matisse, 1890-1911 : The Greatest Gift Of The Masters

Exhibition at the Matisse Museum, Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 9 November 2019 - 9 February 2020

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the Musée Départemental Matisse in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, founded by the artist himself in his native town in 1952, pays tribute to the man from the North who became one of the greatest masters of the 20th century

This catalogue reveals the mystery of the first twenty years of Matisse's career, never before so fully presented. It highlights his early works from his revelation to painting in 1890, his academic training until the closure of his Academy in Paris, where he taught until 1911. This decisive and defining period of his identity allows us to understand how the painter was built. The book examines the creative process of a man who copied the ancients and was inspired by the greatest masters of the past and his contemporaries in order to overturn the codes and establish himself among those he had contemplated.