Purple Robe and Anemones

"Creativity takes courage" Henri Matisse 

This week the Picassos were introduced to artist Henri Matisse! Matisse was a French painter who produced works of art from the early 1900s right up until his death in the mid 50s. This means he was popular during the time of Picasso (their namesake) and they actually had a friendship and rivalry that kept them both on their toes! 

Matisse is known as a master of colour and his style of painting was actually responsible for creating a whole new movement called Fauvism. When his work was first shown French critics shunned it and likened him to le fauve or wild beast... and well the name not only stuck but Matisse managed to turn that critique that was meant as an insult into something positive that influenced a whole new generation of artists! Now isn't that a great attitude to model!

The painting the Picassos recreated today was his Purple Robe and Anemones which you can see below :)

The beauty of this painting is not just his use of vibrant colours but also how he manages to make everything appear flat while at the same time maintaining a separation of each surface and dimension.

I got the children to draw using oil pastels instead of pencils today because I really want them to develop making purposeful lines. There is merit in erasing and fixing but when you remove the ability to do that what takes its place is mindfulness about where to go next because you know that it can't be easily changed. Tough love I guess lol... Check out the Picassos' version of this masterpiece! I think they did great especially considering we used the no pencils approach I described above. 

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