To look at something as if we had never seen it before requires great courage,
said Henri Matisse. It is with this spirit that the department of Nord and the team at the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambrésis embarked on a complete redesign after two years of work and expansion. Emulating the artist—the most celebrated figure from Le Cateau—the museum sought space and light to showcase its rich collection and deepen its roots in the region that gave birth to the founder of Fauvism.
Matisse, child of the North and of textiles
Henri Matisse was born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, in a house that once stood on what is now Rue de la République. From a long line of weavers, known locally as “mulquiniers,” who produced and sold fine linens, Matisse was raised in a city enriched by textiles. He later studied textile design at the Quentin de la Tour school in Saint-Quentin, and his lifelong fascination with fabrics, their textures, and colors is reflected in works like Two Young Girls, Yellow Dress, Plaid Dress, where vibrant colors form a shimmering pyramid of fabric. The museum’s expansion will better showcase its textile collection, a testament to Matisse’s passion. Although he spent much time at his grandmother’s home at 45 Rue de la République, he moved to Bohain-en-Vermandois, a nearby town, for the first twenty years of his life before journeying ever farther in search of new lights and colors in places like Paris, Ajaccio, Collioure, Tahiti, and Nice.
The Matisse family home in Bohain still stands, with exhibits offering a glimpse into the artist’s early years. Just as Collioure’s beaches and Tahiti’s skies influenced him, the Oise River and the canals of northern Aisne became pivotal subjects during his formative years. The museum preserves these vibrant works, such as Canal near Bohain (1903) and views of Lesquielles-Saint-Germain near Guise, where Matisse lived by the Oise’s pastoral banks in 1903.
A collection bequeathed by Matisse himself
Matisse’s return to his birthplace came late in life. After the war, townspeople proposed a museum honoring him, meeting with the artist in Nice. Matisse, moved, donated 82 major works, forming the museum’s initial collection, which opened in 1952 in the Renaissance-style town hall, where his parents’ wedding had once been celebrated. Though unwell, Matisse oversaw the display plans through his secretary and muse, Lydia Delectorskaya. “My fellow citizens of Le Cateau, whom I left so quickly to go where my destiny led me, have honored my life’s work with the creation of this museum,” he wrote for the inauguration. “I understood that my life’s toil was for the great human family, to reveal to them a glimpse of the world’s fresh beauty. I was only a medium.”
Following this mission, the museum moved in 1982 to the Fenelon Palace, a former archbishop’s residence from the 1770s, reconstructed by neoclassical architect Alexandre-Théodore Brogniart, designer of the Paris Bourse. Its classical façade, with alternating rows of red brick and white stone, echoes Matisse’s art, who said that “if a single tone is merely a color, two tones make harmony; it’s life.”
The Matisse Museum in Cateau-Cambrésis reinvents itself
Today, the museum holds over 750 paintings, sculptures, and drawings, spanning Matisse’s entire life and multiple art forms, from drawing and sculpture to gouache and stained glass. Thanks to donations from Matisse’s family, abstract master Auguste Herbin (also from Le Cateau), and the Tériade Collection, the museum has grown immensely. To accommodate its treasures, the museum recently expanded by over 1,000 square meters within a restored 19th-century market hall. This new space enhances the visitor experience, with workshop spaces on the lower level, early works and drawings on the main floor, and later sculptures, cut-outs, and key works displayed upstairs. This enriched layout connects seamlessly with the town and the stunning Fénelon Palace park, designed by Le Nôtre, a serene place where, as Matisse said, “There are flowers everywhere for those who want to see them.”
