HENRI MATISSE

An articulate, attractive biography in the First Impressions series, about an artist whose paintings were as much celebrations of color as they were portraits of people and things. Although he was trained to become a lawyer, Matisse received his first box of paints at age 20 and was hooked. The brilliant colors of his early paintings made his critics label his style fauvism, but the patronage of Shchukin and a trip to Morocco helped Matisse establish his style and fascination for color. Conforming to other books in the series, this volume includes many large full- color reproductions of the artist's work, allowing readers to easily find points mentioned in the text. The writing is mature in approach, without being overly weighty, making it suitable not just for young readers, but adults with a budding interest in art. (index) (Biography. 11-14)