Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (French: [ɑ̃ʁi emil bənwa matis]; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter. [1]Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso, as one of the artists who best helped to ...