Henri Matisse painted his first still lifes around 1890. He becomes particularly interested in the rendering of light and space. Matisse ventures into Pointillism and is strongly influenced by Cézanne in his efforts to achieve a more disciplined structure based on fields of contrasting colours. His first major success comes with a pointillist work. Matisse quickly gave up Neo-Impressionism and started working with a broader brushstroke, and even more expressive colours. When some of these pieces were exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in Paris, they caused outrage, and the exhibitors were mockingly called Fauves, or wild beasts, which marked the beginning of Fauvism, with Matisse as its spiritual father.
The years that followed were Matisse's most artistically creative and most interesting period. He painted his best-known and most spectacular pieces and was internationally recognized. In 1917 Matisse exchanged buzzling Paris for much quieter Nice and in the following ten years his work became more moderate and 'classic'. After an unsuccessful surgery in 1941, Matisse ended up in a wheelchair. This greatly limited him in his work and freedom of movement. Since he could not paint the way he was used to, he started making colourful collages of cut paper, he also made prints and book illustrations. In the following years he designed the Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence and took charge of the furnishing and decoration. Matisse worked until his death in 1954.