Matisse Lesson Plans for Children
Henri Matisse, a French artist who lived from 1869 to 1954, was one of the most notable painters of the 20th century. He led the post-Impressionist Fauvist artistic movement, a style that used bright, wild colors to show emotions. Teachers can share Matisse's artwork and style with students by using lesson plans that engage students in creating Matisse-inspired works of art.
Collage
The National Standards for Visual Arts indicate that children from kindergarten to grade 4 should be able to describe how expressive features in a work of art cause different responses, and they should be able to use symbols and ideas to communicate visual meaning. Teachers can meet these standards by having students create Matisse collages. Students will need pieces of tissue paper, construction paper or other colorful papers, as well as watered-down glue in a small dish, scissors and heavy poster board or card stock. The students first imagine a story that they would like to share on paper. Next, they cut the paper into simple but bold shapes and glue them to the collage to tell their story. Afterward, they can describe the expressive features in their artwork to a partner.
Self-Portraits
The visual arts standards note that children should be able to use a variety of media and processes to communicate their ideas and feelings. These standards lend themselves easily to Matisse-inspired self-portraits. First, students should look at Matisse's self-portrait as well as other portraits that the artist created, and discuss his use of color, shape and form in the images. The teacher can ask students questions such as what emotions Matisse was trying to express through his use of color. Afterward, students can discuss their own emotions and what colors they would use to represent their feelings. Finally, they can use materials such as tempera paint, pastels and colored construction paper to create self-portraits.
Cutouts
Because students should be able to use art tools safely and responsibly and must be able to apply different techniques and processes, they can practice these important skills and meet the national visual arts standards by creating Matisse cutouts. For this lesson, students will need large sheets of construction paper in different colors, as well as smaller squares of construction paper, glue and scissors. The teacher will explain to students that Matisse used a wheelchair later in life and was unable to paint, so he "drew" with scissors by cutting out positive and negative shapes and gluing them in place on large sheets of paper. Students can practice creating artworks as Matisse did by cutting out negative and positive shapes from the smaller squares of paper and gluing them in place on the larger sheets of construction paper to form colorful patterns.
Still-Life Paintings
Students can meet the visual arts standards of selecting subject matter to convey meaning and communicating ideas through visual structures by creating Matisse still-life paintings. Students will need watercolor or tempera paint, glue, scissors, construction paper, water dishes and paintbrushes, as well as a variety of objects such as vases, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Before beginning, students will look at examples of Matisse's still-life paintings and discuss his use of color, texture and form in his masterpieces. Afterward, students can create still-life drawings from imagination or by using the objects in the classroom.
