Henri Matisse was a French artist known for his use of color. He was born in 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambresis, Nord, France. He first started to paint when his mother brought him art supplies during his recovery from appendicitis. Matisseís artistic career was long and varied, covering many different styles of painting, including Impressionism, Pointillism, and Abstraction. He made a reputation for himself as the leader of a group of painters known as Les Fauves, meaning ìWild Beastsî, and reflecting Matisseís aggressive paint strokes and bold use of primary colors. Beyond painting, he worked with lithographs and sculpture. Later, he experimented with paper cutouts, calling it ìpainting with scissors.î