Henri Matisse paintings 1890-1899

In 1891 Henri Matisse returned to Paris to study art at the Académie Julian and became a student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Gustave Moreau. Initially he painted still lifes and landscapes in a traditional style, at which he achieved reasonable proficiency. Matisse was influenced by the works of earlier masters such as Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Nicolas Poussin, and Antoine Watteau, as well as by modern artists, such as Édouard Manet, and by Japanese art. Chardin was one of the painters Matisse most admired; as an art student he made copies of four of Chardin's paintings in the Louvre. In 1896 and 1897, Matisse visited the Australian painter John Peter Russell on the island Belle Île off the coast of Brittany. Russell introduced him to Impressionism and to the work of van Gogh, who had been a friend of Russell but was completely unknown at the time. Matisse's style changed completely. He later said "Russell was my teacher, and Russell explained colour theory to me." In 1896 Matisse exhibited five paintings in the salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, two of which were purchased by the state.
In 1898, on the advice of Camille Pissarro, he went to London to study the paintings of J. M. W. Turner and then went on a trip to Corsica. Upon his return to Paris in February 1899, he worked beside Albert Marquet and met André Derain, Jean Puy, and Jules Flandrin.

Still Life with Books and Candle 1890 Still Life with Books 1890 Woman Reading 1894 The Study of Gustave Moreau 1895 Belle Ile 1896
Still Life with
Books and Candle
1890
Still Life with
Books
1890
Woman Reading
1894
The Study of
Gustave Moreau
1895
Belle Ile
1896
Interior 1896 The Maid 1896 Brittany. Boat 1896 Interior with a top hat  1896 The Port of Palais, Belle Ile 1896
Interior
1896
The Maid
1896
Brittany. Boat
1896
Interior with a top hat
1896
The Port of Palais, Belle Ile
1896
Blue Pot and Lemon  1897 Farms in Brittany, Belle Ile 1897 The Dinner Table  1897 Fruit and Coffee-Pot 1898 Farms 1898
Blue Pot and Lemon
1897
Farms in Brittany,
Belle Ile
1897
The Dinner Table
1897
Fruit and Coffee-Pot
1898
Farms
1898
Landscape 1898 Landscape 1898 Still Life 1898 The olive 1898 Landscape, the Pink Wall 1898
Landscape
1898
Landscape
1898
Still Life
1898
The olive
1898
Landscape,
the Pink Wall
1898
Vase of Sunflowers 1898 Olive Trees 1898 Still Life with Oranges 1898 Still Life with Pitcher and Fruit 1898 The Little Gate of the Old Mill  1898
Vase of Sunflowers
1898
Olive Trees
1898
Still Life with Oranges
1898
Still Life with
Pitcher and Fruit
1898
The Little Gate
of the Old Mill
1898
Study of a Nude 1899 Still Life with Oranges 1899 Landscape of Corsica 1898 Landscape of Corsica 1898 Landscape 1898
Study of a Nude
1899
Still Life
with Oranges
1899
Landscape of Corsica
1898
Landscape of Corsica
1898
Landscape
1898
Still Life 1899 Lemons and Bottle of Dutch Gin 1896
Still Life
1899
Lemons and Bottle
of Dutch Gin
1896