ARTS & KIDS: HENRI MATISSE

“Creativity takes courage“- Henri Matisse.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be holding an exhibition this spring (from April 9th- July 9th) with a large collection of rarely seen works by French painter Henri Matisse. I wish I could travel to Boston to see this exposition as he has been a favorite artist of mine. I love his endless creativity and his colorful forms and paintings.

 

A great way to introduce children to Matisse’s work is the book Henri’s Scissors, that focuses on his college art.

This book describes the life of the painter and explains how when Matisse was in his late sixties, and after being diagnosed with cancer and in a wheelchair, he found a creative resurgence with the paper cutting technique. He chose cut-outs over paint and invented a new medium.

 

The story – written by Jeanette Winter- is beautifully told and I really liked the lyrical ending where the artist ends up in the stars.

Henri’s Scissors is a great way for kids to start learning about Matisse, whose work revolutionized 20th-century art.

Another amazing book  is “Matisse’s Garden“, written by Samantha Friedman, published by the MoMA, and with illustrations by Cristina Amodeo.

We also found inspiration about Matisse on the great blog of the Tate Modern Gallery in London and their post Who’s Matisse? , and I also recommend the following video for children by the Tate Modern.

 

 

So, after reading the book, my kids started to paint, cut and create!

 

Here are some of our favorite prints to decorate kids’ rooms. 

“Le Gerbe”

“La Danse”

If your kids like art history, perhaps you might find interesting the following proposals:

Frida Kahlo for kids

Claude Monet for kids:

Joan Miró for kids:

Salvador Dalí for kids:

Yves Klein for Kids: