Lesson Overview

• FOCUS ARTIST: • FOCUS ELEMENTS: – COLOR- light, striking an object, reflected back to the eye. – SPACE- areas around, between or within parts of a piece – SHAPE-an enclosed space defined by other elements of art. • FOCUS PRINCIPLES: – CONTRAST-putting opposite elements together to create interest. – MOVEMENT- using the elements to guide the viewers eye through a composition, or piece of artwork. Henri Matisse December 31 1869 –November 3 1954 Born in France About the Artist Matisse was a sculptor, printmaker, draughtsman (one who draws) but mostly known as a painter. He found a love for art in his 20’s after his mother bought him art supplies to keep him busy as he recovered from appendicitis. He called art a “kind of paradise.” Expression of feeling using bold, wild colors and flat shapes became more important to Matisse than detail and reality.

La Tristesse du roi (Sorrows of the King), 1952 Later in his career, Matisse started using cutout shapes, and collage in his art. Some of the work done by Matisse was so large that he would have to use large walls and sticks to move the pieces around until he found them to be just right. Here he is sketching his designs on the walls prior to painting them in with color. Matisse grew painfully ill and could not be moved from his wheelchair or bed. He could still cut images and have his secretary place them around the floor to find his designs. He loved to cut the shapes to show texture in a design. The Icarus

Many people didn’t like Matisse’s work at the time because it was different. They called him and the group of artists he worked with the “Fauves” or wild beasts. This art movement became known as Modern Art. , 1905 Notice how Matisse uses bright expressive colors. Because he is not trying to make it look real, this type of art is called Abstract. Nu bleu II (Blue Nude II), 1952 Gouache-painted paper cut-outs stuck to paper mounted on canvas In the artwork the blue parts are positive space. Shapes are put together to make a human form. Now look at the white spaces between the blue. These areas are called negative space. Notice how Matisse uses up the whole canvas. Even the background, or negative space becomes interesting. La Vis Look at the colors, shapes, and lines. Notice that he used dark colors next to light colors, curvy lines next to zig-zag lines. This gives his art work contrast which makes it interesting to look at. La Vis Athough there is a lot of contrast in this piece, notice also how Matisse repeats colors, shapes, and lines to create harmony and make the piece feel like it all belongs together. This is called unity. The Snail Once again notice the fun shapes that are created in the negative (white) space. Some are big, medium, and small. The Snail Matisse arranged these shapes in a way that guides your eye to all parts of the art. This is called Movement. Think of some words that come to mind when you see this artwork. How do the elements and principles that we have discussed help to communicate these thoughts? Become a Matisse Artist!

1-Decide what ideas and feelings you want to communicate in your art and choose colors and shapes that will help you do that. 2- Using your scissors, cut out shapes to create a Matisse-style piece of art. Remember to create contrast and movement in your art. 3-Move the shapes around until you have a composition with interesting negative and positive space. 4-Glue the pieces down. Remember with glue a dot is a lot! 5- Matt the work if you choose and place a name sticker on the artwork.