Henri Matisse for Kids (Art Lesson)

Whether you teach a group of children or just teach your own children, this Henri Matisse for Kids is an easy-to-follow art lesson.

Matisse is a wonderful artist with an artistic style that children will love to learn about.

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We’ll give you a brief history of Matisse and then go over the basics of creating a Matisse-like work of art. The main idea here is the collage technique, but this can also be done with paint.

Acrylic or watercolor in a more abstract style, looking at the type of shapes Matisse liked to use, could easily be done in place of or in addition to paper collage.

Start your art lesson with information about Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was born in 1869 and died in 1954. He was a talented French artist, famous for his sculptures, paintings and drawings. His style helped take the type of art you saw in his time to the next level due to his use of bright colors and textures in his artwork.

He could be considered a Fauvist, an artist known as “the wild beast” for his unusual use of color. His work focuses more on pattern and color than achieving a “realistic” looking subject.

He was considered a very talented classical painter in the 1920s. We know he had talent for those types of paintings. After that, he developed his own style and became famous. When he was older and sick, he used collage instead of paint as his medium.

Some of his most outstanding works were done late in his life with cutouts and patterns created with paper. He was later considered a pioneer in Modern Art.

Some good examples of his work are The Woman in the Hat, The Joy of Life, The Two Dancers, Jazz – Le Cirque and La Perruche – et la Sirene.

To complete a Henri Matisse for Kids style artwork, you will need:

• drag
• colorful construction paper
• glue stick
• cardboard or thick paper for the base (enough for each child to have a variety if teaching multiple children.)

Direction:

Go through Matisse’s life and give some examples of his work. Ask children questions about what stands out and point out how they use bright colors.

I like to use the color wheel when teaching artists like this and remind them of complementary colors, so they will think about that when choosing colors for their work.

Then, give them a thicker, base paper like cardstock or cardboard if possible. Also ask them to choose a color for a solid background. First, stick the paper down to the cardboard using glue.

Then, ask them to create a collage in an abstract style. If possible, ask them to start cutting out random shapes and then as they do they might start to see a scene or come up with something they want to illustrate.

However, if nothing comes to mind, that’s okay, it can be abstract, without a theme.

Remind them to choose bright colors that work well together in their paper selection, and ask them to use the color they most want to represent as a focal point. The largest ones or those with prominent shapes should be the focal point.

Using black accents helps highlight shapes and create emphasis. Adding small dots or shadows to black paper shapes is a nice touch.

In general, they should use at least 3 or more colors.

Making collages can be very relaxing. Some kids with a more literal learning style sometimes have difficulty with abstract art, so just help kids who need it find a subject if they need it.

Create collages

Glue the shapes down after placing them on the paper and arrange them loosely first.

If the kids stick a few down and then change their minds, the paper tends to tear if they try to pull it back up. Be sure to explain this before they start cutting.

The final step, after all the pieces have been glued, is just to check the edges of the paper. Make sure none pop up or need more glue.

Let the glue dry before moving and put it in your backpack or take it home if possible.

Note – if you want to do this lesson with paint instead, as mentioned at the beginning, ask students to lightly sketch the shapes in pencil first, on canvas or paper, then paint the background color, then the shapes.

Henri Matisse’s lessons open up many creative possibilities for children.

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Categories: Activities for Kids
Source: fetb.edu.vn