| Timeline |
| 1869 |
Born 31 December in France near the Belgian border |
| 1882 |
Studies Greek, Latin and French at the lycée in Saint-Quentin |
| 1887 |
Goes to Paris to study law, according to his father's wishes |
| 1888 |
Passes law exam, takes work as a law clerk in Saint-Quentin |
| 1889 |
Taking early mornings classes in drawing at a local school, an attack of appendicitis keeps him in bed for an extended recuperation - and he paints to pass the time |
| 1891 |
Leaves for Paris to pursue studies of painting, registers at the Académie Julian |
| 1892 |
Fails entrance exam for the école des Beaux-Arts, attends Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs |
| 1895 |
Passes entrance exam for école des Beaux-Arts, enters the studio of Gustave Moreau |
| 1898 |
Marries Amélie Parayre |
| 1898 |
Moreau dies, Matisse is asked to give his place in the studio to a younger student (Matisse is now over thirty) |
| 1901 |
Exhibits at the Salon des Indépendants |
| 1904 |
First solo show at the Galerie Vollard |
| 1905 |
First Fauve exhibition |
| 1906 |
Meets Picasso and Braque, travels to North Africa |
| 1908 |
Notes d'un Peintre published |
| 1908 |
Exhibits in New York for the first time (at the 291 Gallery) |
| 1908 |
Sarah Stein convinces Matisse to open his own art school - he teaches until 1911 |
| 1913 |
Exhibits at the Armory Show in New York |
| 1914 |
Matisse is rejected for military service, he sends his family to Toulouse |
| 1917 |
Begins spending winters in Nice |
| 1920 |
Designs sets and costumes for Giaghilev's ballet Song of the Nightingale |
| 1923 |
Work is included in the Armory Show in New York |
| 1925 |
Named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour |
| 1930 |
Spends three months in Tahiti |
| 1939 |
Matisse's art is condemned by the Nazi's as 'degenerate' |
| 1940 |
Separation from wife |
| 1941 |
Undergoes surgery for duodenal cancer |
| 1946 |
Appears in a documentary film entitled A Vist with Matisse |
| 1946 |
Elevated to the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honour |
| 1947 |
Jazz, written and illustrated by Matisse, published |
| 1954 |
Dies 3 November in Nice of a heart attack |
