(b Paris, 27 May 1871; d Paris, 13 Feb. 1958). French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and designer who created a personal kind of Expressionism that gives him a highly distinctive place in modern art. From 1885 to 1890 he was apprenticed to a stained-glass maker, his work including the restoration of medieval glass; the vivid colours and strong outlines typical of the medium left a strong imprint on his work. In 1892 he became a fellow pupil of Matisse and Marquet under Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts. He was Moreau's favourite pupil and in 1898 became the first curator of the Musée Moreau in Paris. At about the same time he underwent a psychological crisis and although he continued to associate with the group of artists around Matisse who were later known as Fauves, he did not adopt their brilliant colour or characteristic subjects; instead he painted characters such as clowns, prostitutes, and outcasts in sombre but glowing tones.

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)


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