Matisse-inspired Paper Collages

A flurry of colors and forms, the cut-outs of Henri Matisse inspire many artists. Primarily known for being a famous painter, Matisse began cut-outs as an art form in their own right out of sheer necessity.

From Moma.org

A little history: After illness and surgery left him bound to his bed and a wheelchair, he began to instruct his studio assistants to make large sheets of painted papers which he cut into shapes and arranged into compositions with a board and tacks. He had his assistants arrange larger works directly on the wall.

Students looked at several examples of his work, and how he used line, shape, motion, variety, and balance to create successful compositions.

Artists here at EES used a variety of geometric and organic shapes as well as multiple types of line.

The elements and principles of design in art are part of any art curriculum. Used together with thought, they help us feel the artwork. The artist who created the collage below has combined the elements of shape and line to create an energetic, springing effect which displays the principle of movement.

In the image below, there is a repetition of straight lines and triangles in a rainbow of colors. The visual emphasis made by the repeating lines and shapes quickly and effectively draws our eyes to look at them.

 Like Matisse, students used positive and negative spaces to create their shapes and lines. The artist of the work below has used negative space to create both wavy and zigzag lines, letting the layer underneath show through a gap left between larger pieces. The high contrast between many of the colors, such as the red on blue, draws our eyes.

Learning the elements and principles of design helps each student grow visual vocabularies to discuss what they see, what they like, and what they want to create.