December 31st marked the birthday of Henri Matisse,(1869-1954) one of the towering figures of 20th century art. Draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor, painter, the master of colour and fluid line, he applied his genius to many media. 

After surgery in 1941, he was unable to use brushes or sculpt , so turned to “painting with scissors”, producing large scale collages, (gouaches découpés) bursting with joy and colour. 

Apart from all the art, Belvedere and I particularly appreciate Matisse’s obvious adoration for cats. who adored him right back. He was owned by three: Minouche, Coussi and La Puce. There are many photographs of them together, often while he was working. 

Find out more about cats in art from Artistic Cats part of Clowder’s Creative Cats series.