Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (* 31 December 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, Département Nord, France; † 3 November 1954 in Cimiez, now a district of Nice), was a French painter, graphic artist, draftsman and sculptor. Along with Pablo Picasso, he is one of the most important artists of classical modernism. Along with André Derain, he is considered a pioneer and main representative of Fauvism, which propagated the break away from Impressionism and represented the first artistic movement of the 20th century.
Matisse's work is characterized by flat colors and exciting lines. The colors, the playful composition and the lightness of the pictorial themes are the result of long studies. With his paper cuts (gouaches découpées) created in the 1940s - one example is the artist's book Jazz - Matisse, who was seriously ill, created a late work that brings his efforts at reduction to a conclusion and, with its colorfulness and ornamentation, is considered the high point of his artistic career.