Which artist is known for his cut-out paper collages called 'gouaches découpés'?

Henri Matisse is the artist known for cut-out paper collages called gouaches découpés. In this technique, sheets of paper are painted with opaque gouache, cut into shapes, and arranged into colorful compositions that Matisse often pinned or pasted into place.

The method became central to Matisse’s late career. After surgery for abdominal cancer in 1941, he relied on a wheelchair and found painting and sculpture increasingly difficult. With assistants preparing painted sheets, he could work with scissors and direct the placement of forms from his chair. He described this period as a “second life,” turning cut paper into an independent medium rather than merely a design aid.

Matisse had experimented with cut paper earlier, including work for theater productions and an opera project, but the technique matured after the war. His 1947 artist’s book Jazz and later large works such as The Snail and The Swimming Pool demonstrate how small cut shapes could become mural-scale environments.

The term can be confused with ordinary collage, but Matisse’s gouaches découpés are especially associated with painted paper, bold silhouettes, and the artist’s hands-on process of cutting and arranging.