, French artist, was a leader of the Fauve group. He was highly regarded as one of the great formative figures in 20th century art and a master of the use of color and form to convey emotional expression. Matisse discovered his artistic abilities when he had been bedstrucken with an attack of appendicitis. He became very fascinated and intrigued by painting and continued his interest by moving to Paris to study art formally. Some of his first influences were those of Gauguin, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. He studied their work very closely. Soon ....