Grade 2 Student Artwork – Matisse Collage

Henri Matisse, known as the King of Color, was one of the great artists of the 20th century. Towards the end of his life, Matisse could no longer hold a paintbrush or stand at an easel, so he started creating his paper-cuts. He scissored out shapes and collaged them into vast pictures. It is this story that inspired our young Grade 2 students to create this bright, striking collage.

Each student worked on an individual paper. They began by layering tissue paper in the background, sending the color factor off the charts! Over several weeks, they cut out organic shapes and glued them on top of their background. They learned that an organic shape has no name, so came up with their own names such as “duck’s foot” or “wavy comb”. They finished with a loose self portrait drawing as their final layer.

The shapes in the vertical middle section are from a ‘shape competition’. Students made their favorite organic shape on a square paper and the art teacher chose the 6 winners.