Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Henri Matisse’s works offer more than meets the eye.

His daring body of work spans more than five decades and made him a leading figure in modern art.

As his work grew greater in scale and ambition towards the end of his life, Matisse embraced his cutout technique, which he first explored in designing costumes and scenery for the Ballets Russes in 1919.

By cutting sheets of paper painted with meticulously mixed hues, Matisse “painted with scissors,” which allowed him to continue creating art despite his failing health once he reached in his early 70s.

Watch and learn how to make fashion stamps inspired by Matisse’s 1953 work “Large Decoration with Masks,” which you can view in our online collection here: nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.53814.html

Required Materials:

Jumpsuit
Rubber carving blocks
Carving tools
Roller (aka brayer)
Fabric screen printing ink
Sharpie
Tracing paper
Pencil