The Back (I)

1906

Meeting Pablo Picasso

The first meeting between Matisse and Picasso took place at the Steins' salon on the Rue de Fleurus in Paris. Their creative friendship was full of rivalry and mutual respect.

20 March 1906

"Le Bonheur de Vivre" at the Salon des Indépendants

Matisse presented "Le Bonheur de Vivre" (The Joy of Life), a painting combining pastoral and bacchanal motifs. Critics and academic circles reacted with extreme irritation, but Leo Stein purchased this painting as well.

1906

Trip to Algeria

Matisse visited the oasis of Biskra; immediately upon his return he painted "Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra)" and created the sculpture "Reclining Nude I." He brought back ceramics and textiles from the trip and became fascinated with the ornamental art of the Muslim East.

1908

Shchukin's Commission for "Dance" and "Music"

The Russian collector Sergei Shchukin commissioned three decorative panels from Matisse for his Moscow house: "Dance," "Music," and "Bathing" (which remained at the sketch stage). The money of Russian collectors allowed the artist to finally overcome his financial difficulties.

25 December 1908

"Notes of a Painter"

"Notes of a Painter" was published in La Grande Revue, in which Matisse formulated his artistic principles — the need to convey emotion directly through simple means.

1908

Opening of the Académie Matisse

With the support of the Steins, Hans Purrmann, and other patrons, Matisse founded a private, non-commercial painting school, where he taught from January 1908 to 1911. About 100 students studied at the academy during that time.