What Artists Can Learn from Matisse’s Bold and Playful Cutouts

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How do you study an art style? How do you learn a specific art style? How do you analyze art styles? How do you find your own art style?

In this Style Study Session, we will use the six qualities of style to not only better understand the artist we study but also to apply these ideas to developing your own unique style.

For today’s session, we’re diving into the groundbreaking late works of Henri Matisse (as requested!) and focusing on his paper cutouts.

If YOU want to choose an artist for me to study (living or dead), drop their name in the comments below! Your suggestions help shape future Style Study Sessions.

Hey there! 👋 I’m Carrie. Here on Artist Strong, I help self-taught artists learn how to draw or paint anything they want. To date, thousands have joined the community.

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Now, let’s jump into today’s Style Study Session. 

I mentioned at the beginning that we will use the 6 qualities of style to discuss the work, but how do you define style and what are these 6 qualities? I have a full video on that I’ve linked for you here and below, but let’s have a short primer:

What Defines an Artist’s Style?

Before we jump in, let’s quickly define style. Style is the unique way an artist communicates through their art. It has six key qualities:

  • Elements & Principles of Art
  • Medium & Materials
  • Genre
  • Theme
  • Influence
  • Personal Experience

Now, let’s break down Matisse’s paper cutouts using these six qualities.

Elements & Principles of Art

Matisse’s cutouts are an explosion of color, shape, and composition. Instead of painting, he “drew with scissors,” cutting organic, fluid shapes from vibrant, hand-painted paper.

His work embraces:

  • Bold, flat colors: No shading, no gradients: just pure, saturated hues placed in rhythmic harmony.
  • Strong contrast: Juxtaposing complementary colors and balancing warm vs. cool tones.
  • Simplification: Forms are reduced to their essence, eliminating unnecessary detail.
  • Dynamic composition: The cutouts are arranged in a way that feels both structured and free-flowing, often extending beyond the frame.

Medium & Materials

Matisse innovated by turning scissors into a painting tool. His process involved:

  • Hand-painting sheets of paper with gouache, ensuring rich, uniform color.
  • Cutting shapes freehand, allowing spontaneity in form.
  • Pasting the pieces onto large surfaces, adjusting their placement over time.
  • Scaling up his work to monumental sizes, sometimes covering entire walls.

The cutouts were a radical shift from traditional painting, yet they retained the same deep understanding of color theory and composition that defined Matisse’s earlier work.

Genre

Matisse’s paper cutouts straddle the line between painting and sculpture. While they are technically collage, they function like abstract paintings, using color and shape as their primary expressive tools. His style is often associated with Fauvism, but the cutouts are closer to Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, despite preceding both movements.

Theme

Matisse’s cutouts reflect themes of joy, movement, and nature:

  • Celebration of life: His cutouts are filled with energy and optimism, created during a time of declining health.
  • Organic and botanical forms: Leaves, coral, and plant-like shapes feature prominently.
  • The human figure: Works like Blue Nude II simplify the body into expressive, abstract curves.
  • Dance and rhythm: Many compositions, like The Parakeet and the Mermaid, feel musical in their movement.

When studying an artist, remember to analyze not only their technical choices but also the themes and influences that shape their vision. Use the 6 qualities of style as a guide to discover how your own experiences and values can inform your creative practice.

This is the kind of thing I do inside Self-Taught to Self-Confident, where I guide people through filling in any gaps in their skill so they confidently express themselves through unique, original art. We have an entire section dedicated to developing an understanding of our own influences and how to make choices moving forward that reflect our unique vision and voice for our art.

👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 If that sounds exciting to you, you can learn more when you sign up for my workshop “How to Create Art from Your Imagination” for free. You’ll enjoy a taste of my teaching, learn more about the program, and get a special 7-day enrollment offer when you sign up. Use the link here or in the comments below.

Now let’s discuss Matisse’s influences.

Influence

Matisse was influenced by:

  • His own earlier work: The flat color planes of Fauvism evolved into the bold hues of his cutouts.
  • Islamic and African art: His visits to Morocco and exposure to non-Western aesthetics influenced his approach to pattern and form.
  • Japanese prints: Their use of bold outlines and flat color fields resonated in his work.
  • Modern dance: The movement and flow in his cutouts parallel the gestures of dance.

What’s Appropriation Got to Do With it?

A term often used outside of the world of art but that also has a specific meaning and context for the artists is appropriation. In terms of discussing art history and theory, art appropriation 

“refers to the practice of artists using pre-existing objects or images in their art with little transformation of the original.” (This is the definition offered by Tate Modern).

Matisse’s inspiration from other cultures does not fully recognize the artists who inspired his work. Matisse is important to understanding Western culture and art history, but to fully do so, we also need to spend time digging deeper into the cultural influences that helped shape his art.

A conversation around the ethics of appropriation is an important one and I have spoken about it before. I’ll be sure to link some sources below that can help you on that journey. Now let’s get back to the 6 qualities of style and discuss personal experience.

Personal Experience

Matisse developed his paper cutout technique in the final decade of his life, after surgery left him wheelchair-bound. Unable to stand at an easel, he adapted by working with scissors and paper, proving that artistic innovation has no age limit. His assistants would help pin and arrange the cutouts, creating an evolving composition process that mirrored painting but with a sculptural element.

He called this period of his life his “second act”, demonstrating how limitations can lead to new creative breakthroughs.

How to Apply This to Your Art

Studying an artist like Matisse isn’t just about imitation, it’s about understanding the choices behind the style and finding ways to incorporate similar approaches into your own work. Here are some ideas:

  • Experiment with cutouts: Try painting sheets of paper in different colors and cutting out organic shapes to arrange into compositions.
  • Simplify your forms: What happens when you strip your work down to its most essential shapes?
  • Focus on color relationships: Play with bold, flat colors and see how they interact.
  • Work with limitations: Challenge yourself with a new tool or constraint to spark creativity.

Summary

Henri Matisse’s paper cutouts are a masterclass in color, shape, and creative reinvention. His work proves that style isn’t about sticking to one method forever, it’s about continuously evolving while staying true to your artistic voice.

As you grow as an artist, you might change mediums, techniques, or processes, but the core of your style will always be there. What elements of Matisse’s cutouts resonate with you the most? Let me know in the comments!

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As always, thanks so much for watching. Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.

Together we are Artist Strong.

Sources

  1. Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs – MoMA Exhibition
  2. Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs – MoMA Artworks PDF
  3. Matisse: The Cut-Outs – National Gallery of Art
  4. Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs Unveiled by the Tate Modern
  5. Everything You Need to Know About Henri Matisse’s Cut-Outs – MoMA Magazine
  6. https://www.henrimatisse.org/cutouts 

Appropriation: 

https://artlyst.com/reviews/matisse-cultural-appropriation-studio-ra-review-sue-hubbard/

https://www.slam.org/blog/african-sculpture-inspired-matisses-practice-as-seen-in-bathers-with-a-turtle/#:~:text=Matisse%20appropriated%20the%20fundamentals%20of,as%20his%20into%20his%20teaching.&text=The%20artist’s%20fascination%20with%20and,painting%20Bathers%20with%20a%20Turtle. 

https://www.artiststrong.com/am-i-appropriating-another-culture-in-my-art/

 

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