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Anholt's Artists
Matisse: The King of Color
Revisits how Henri Matisse used his influence as an artist to help a poor nunnery in Vence, France, raise money to build their own chapel with the help of a nursing nun named Monique who once aided the ill Matisse.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2007
3 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Anholt
244 books88 followersIn a career spanning three decades, Laurence Anholt has produced over 200 children's books, which are published in more than 30 languages. Titles like the self-illustrated Anholt's Artists series have sold many millions of copies around the world. Laurence has also collaborated on numerous picture books with his wife, the artist, Catherine Anholt.
Laurence's first YA / Crossover novel THE HYPNOTIST was published by Penguin Random House on 6th October 2016.
The Hypnotist was described by The Bookseller as 'gripping, powerful storytelling with a powerful anti-racist message.' The book has been officially endorsed by Amnesty International, it was the winner of the Historical Association Young Quills Award, shortlisted for the Southern Schools Book Award and four major book awards. It is currently longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2018.
Born in 1959, Laurence Anholt was brought up mainly in Holland where he developed a lasting love of Art. He went on to study Painting for 8 years, culminating in a Master's Degree from the Royal Academy of Art in London. Catherine and Laurence live and work in a house on a hill with studios and wild flower meadows, overlooking the sea in Devon, southwest England.
Laurence's books have won many awards, including the UK's prestigious Nestlé Smarties Gold Award on two occasions. For more than a decade, Laurence has been amongst the top 200 Most Borrowed Authors from UK libraries across all genres. He was included in the Independent on Sunday's Top 10 Children's Authors in the UK and was described by William Watt as "one of the most versatile authors writing for children today".
Catherine and Laurence have been closely involved with a number of literacy schemes such as the UK Government funded Bookstart scheme. Their publication Babies Love Books (also a much-loved picture book) encourages parents to share books with babies from the earliest possible age. Their work has taken them inside Buckingham Palace and Downing Street on several occasions.
Laurence's self‐illustrated Anholt's Artists series, is an introduction to great artists for young children. These beautiful books are used as part of the national school curriculum in many countries and are sold in galleries and museums all over the world. The books, which include Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Camille and the Sunflowers, Degas and the Little Dancer and The Magical Garden of Claude Monet have taken Laurence on many fascinating journeys of discovery. Each scrupulously researched story is based on an actual encounter between a real child and a great artist. In several instances, Laurence has been assisted by relatives of the artists or by the protagonists themselves - for example, Laurence developed a long-standing friendship with Sylvette David, Picasso's Girl With a Ponytail. This series currently includes 10 titles and it has been adapted in many forms, including Apps for iPads, stage and TV productions and a full scale van Gogh musical which Laurence launched in Korea. The Anholt's Artists books are renowned not only for their educational value, but also for their life-affirming themes of aspiration, tolerance and acceptance of those who are different.
Laurence Anholt is a much sought after public speaker, talking about literature and his own zany view of life at conferences all over the world.
The Anholts have three grown up children, Claire and twins, Tom and Maddy. Claire is an anthropologist who works for the UN in Geneva, Maddy is an actor living in London and Tom is a successful artist based in Berlin. They also have twin grandchildren, Felix and Nina.
Laurence Anholt's interests include art, literature, adventure travel and Buddhist meditation.
For further information visit the Anholts' website: http://www.anholt.co.uk
Laurence's first YA / Crossover novel THE HYPNOTIST was published by Penguin Random House on 6th October 2016.
The Hypnotist was described by The Bookseller as 'gripping, powerful storytelling with a powerful anti-racist message.' The book has been officially endorsed by Amnesty International, it was the winner of the Historical Association Young Quills Award, shortlisted for the Southern Schools Book Award and four major book awards. It is currently longlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2018.
Born in 1959, Laurence Anholt was brought up mainly in Holland where he developed a lasting love of Art. He went on to study Painting for 8 years, culminating in a Master's Degree from the Royal Academy of Art in London. Catherine and Laurence live and work in a house on a hill with studios and wild flower meadows, overlooking the sea in Devon, southwest England.
Laurence's books have won many awards, including the UK's prestigious Nestlé Smarties Gold Award on two occasions. For more than a decade, Laurence has been amongst the top 200 Most Borrowed Authors from UK libraries across all genres. He was included in the Independent on Sunday's Top 10 Children's Authors in the UK and was described by William Watt as "one of the most versatile authors writing for children today".
Catherine and Laurence have been closely involved with a number of literacy schemes such as the UK Government funded Bookstart scheme. Their publication Babies Love Books (also a much-loved picture book) encourages parents to share books with babies from the earliest possible age. Their work has taken them inside Buckingham Palace and Downing Street on several occasions.
Laurence's self‐illustrated Anholt's Artists series, is an introduction to great artists for young children. These beautiful books are used as part of the national school curriculum in many countries and are sold in galleries and museums all over the world. The books, which include Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Camille and the Sunflowers, Degas and the Little Dancer and The Magical Garden of Claude Monet have taken Laurence on many fascinating journeys of discovery. Each scrupulously researched story is based on an actual encounter between a real child and a great artist. In several instances, Laurence has been assisted by relatives of the artists or by the protagonists themselves - for example, Laurence developed a long-standing friendship with Sylvette David, Picasso's Girl With a Ponytail. This series currently includes 10 titles and it has been adapted in many forms, including Apps for iPads, stage and TV productions and a full scale van Gogh musical which Laurence launched in Korea. The Anholt's Artists books are renowned not only for their educational value, but also for their life-affirming themes of aspiration, tolerance and acceptance of those who are different.
Laurence Anholt is a much sought after public speaker, talking about literature and his own zany view of life at conferences all over the world.
The Anholts have three grown up children, Claire and twins, Tom and Maddy. Claire is an anthropologist who works for the UN in Geneva, Maddy is an actor living in London and Tom is a successful artist based in Berlin. They also have twin grandchildren, Felix and Nina.
Laurence Anholt's interests include art, literature, adventure travel and Buddhist meditation.
For further information visit the Anholts' website: http://www.anholt.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 16, 2020
This story about Matisse is told from the point of view of Monique a nurse that helped him through some illness he had. He would paint her from his bed. Nuggets of facts are heaped throughout the story.
The artwork is amazing. It is in the style of Matisse and it's fun to look at in the story. There is so much color. It I were an artist, which I'm not, but I would be more like Matisse. The man loved color and was always trying to make his paintings and works of art brighter. That sounds like me. I don't feel there is enough color in the world. I love it bright and happy. Another philosophy of Matisses's is that life is sad enough so we need happy endings and subjects. I very much agree with that.
When I owned my own condo before going to school, friends who came out called it the crayola box house because one room had bright yellow walls with orange trim, my kitchen cabinets were read, a bedroom was the best soothing kelly green ever and my bathroom was sea blue with decal fish on the walls, even the ceiling was painted to feel like you were underwater. My guest bedroom was lavender with one wall a deep purple and that was a great room. I had art everywhere and colors just gushed out of the place. I do miss that. My apartment now is rented and all the walls are that nasty off-white that everyone thinks is neutral. It's a waste of opportunity for color. It's too much color for some people, but almost everyone enjoyed visiting me. In the winter, the colors boosted people's spirits. Anyway....
Monique moves away to be a nun and her life is black and white then. Matisse happens to move into a lovely home close by and they become friends again. The nuns don't have a chapel as they are very poor so as a gift, Matisse builds her a chapel that he design an it has plenty of color. I love this man. He puts in 17 stain glass windows that he designs. There was a full page spread of the real chapel with light coming through that was beautiful. I love that we get to see the real thing. The walls are white so the windows throw the light on the walls. The chapel is still there and Monique died in 2005.
What a neat story, I love it. History can be so interesting when it's paid attention to. Matisse was a great artist, but look how human he was. I love that. I think children will appreciate the art and the story in this one. It's a little longer for a little older children.
Viva la colour!
The artwork is amazing. It is in the style of Matisse and it's fun to look at in the story. There is so much color. It I were an artist, which I'm not, but I would be more like Matisse. The man loved color and was always trying to make his paintings and works of art brighter. That sounds like me. I don't feel there is enough color in the world. I love it bright and happy. Another philosophy of Matisses's is that life is sad enough so we need happy endings and subjects. I very much agree with that.
When I owned my own condo before going to school, friends who came out called it the crayola box house because one room had bright yellow walls with orange trim, my kitchen cabinets were read, a bedroom was the best soothing kelly green ever and my bathroom was sea blue with decal fish on the walls, even the ceiling was painted to feel like you were underwater. My guest bedroom was lavender with one wall a deep purple and that was a great room. I had art everywhere and colors just gushed out of the place. I do miss that. My apartment now is rented and all the walls are that nasty off-white that everyone thinks is neutral. It's a waste of opportunity for color. It's too much color for some people, but almost everyone enjoyed visiting me. In the winter, the colors boosted people's spirits. Anyway....
Monique moves away to be a nun and her life is black and white then. Matisse happens to move into a lovely home close by and they become friends again. The nuns don't have a chapel as they are very poor so as a gift, Matisse builds her a chapel that he design an it has plenty of color. I love this man. He puts in 17 stain glass windows that he designs. There was a full page spread of the real chapel with light coming through that was beautiful. I love that we get to see the real thing. The walls are white so the windows throw the light on the walls. The chapel is still there and Monique died in 2005.
What a neat story, I love it. History can be so interesting when it's paid attention to. Matisse was a great artist, but look how human he was. I love that. I think children will appreciate the art and the story in this one. It's a little longer for a little older children.
Viva la colour!
April 29, 2018
I don’t have anything to add about this book that hasn’t been covered by the reviewers here. I bought my children all of Laurence Anholt’s children’s bios of artists; each book has a unique style to reflect the subject, and each is insightful and delightful!
February 4, 2013
This is a heartwarming tale of Henri Matisse's later years and his relationship with a visiting nurse who later becomes a nun. The narrative is fascinating and the vibrant illustrations are wonderful.
Henri's determination to continue creating art is humorous and inspiring. We loved seeing Henri draw on the ceiling while confined to bed. The author's note at the end offers a welcome expanded version of the events that are described in the book. We really enjoyed reading this book together and I will certainly look for more books by Laurence Anholt at our local library.
Henri's determination to continue creating art is humorous and inspiring. We loved seeing Henri draw on the ceiling while confined to bed. The author's note at the end offers a welcome expanded version of the events that are described in the book. We really enjoyed reading this book together and I will certainly look for more books by Laurence Anholt at our local library.
October 25, 2017
I must admit that while I am familiar with some of Matisse's artwork, I knew very little about his life. I am impressed by his determination to continue to create art despite his poor health and his desire to help Monique who had worked as his nurse before becoming a nun. Again, I did not know about the Chapelle du Rosaire, but it sounds wonderful! I love stained glass windows. Both the story and illustrations completely captured my attention and won me over!
July 24, 2009
An endearing story about the artist Henri Matisse, especially the ending. We own a Matisse print that hung in our dining room for years so I was happy to find out a little more about him through a children's book at that! My girls seemed to enjoy the story as well. Another one we'll visit in the future for art study.
June 4, 2011
We loved learning about Matisse--and used this book with others showing his work and did cut-outs in his style for an art lesson. The story is so personable and we really loved seeing pictures of the chapel he designed with those REMARKABLE stained glass windows. A far cry from those dry "learn about artist" books. . . Can't wait to read more by this author.
September 5, 2008
OK, the original books in this series were AMAZING. Now it is getting a bit old, but the concept...man...the concept is wonderful. Finding a way to bring famous art to kids is always going to get a great review in my eyes.
December 11, 2011
Multicultural
This story is about Monique, a nurse and her friendship with Henry Matisse, a great French artist. First Monique meets Matisse when he is sick. She has to come to his home and care for him. When she gets there, she sees all of the beautiful paintings he has done. She nurses him to health and they continue to be friends. In the story, Monique joins a convent and becomes a nun. She is still a nurse while here and the only problem is that the convent needs repairs. She talks to Matisse about this and he comes up with the idea of making stained glass to raise money for the chapel. He does this and they make enough money to repair the chapel. The awesome thing about this book is that it is centered on a true story. Students get to hear about a historical even while also exploring color. The illustrations in the book are just as wonderful as the story. They are vivid and colorful. Each page is filled with color just as an artist would use!
This story is about Monique, a nurse and her friendship with Henry Matisse, a great French artist. First Monique meets Matisse when he is sick. She has to come to his home and care for him. When she gets there, she sees all of the beautiful paintings he has done. She nurses him to health and they continue to be friends. In the story, Monique joins a convent and becomes a nun. She is still a nurse while here and the only problem is that the convent needs repairs. She talks to Matisse about this and he comes up with the idea of making stained glass to raise money for the chapel. He does this and they make enough money to repair the chapel. The awesome thing about this book is that it is centered on a true story. Students get to hear about a historical even while also exploring color. The illustrations in the book are just as wonderful as the story. They are vivid and colorful. Each page is filled with color just as an artist would use!
May 5, 2020
When Monique, a young visiting nurse, steps into the home of an elderly patient, she finds herself in rooms filled with the most vivid color she has ever seen. Her patient is the artist Henri Matisse, and as Matisse recovers from his illness, he and Monique become good friends. Later, Monique enters a convent where she becomes a nursing nun--and by happy coincidence, she meets Matisse once again. Her religious order is so poor that they don't have a chapel of their own, but Matisse decides that with Monique's help, he can remedy that situation. He develops a sketch drawn by Monique into a brilliant set of stained-glass chapel windows, and then uses his influence to raise enough money for the chapel's construction. This true account of Matisse and the chapel at Vence, in southern France, is the main focus of Laurence Anholt's newest delightful children's story. Anholt's illustrations faithfully reproduce many of Matisse's wonderful artworks in this beautiful storybook.
March 22, 2016
04/11: When recovering from surgery, Matisse had a lovely young lady care for him at nights. Her name was Monique, and they became close friends. As Matisse healed, he and Monique parted ways. She became a Dominican nun. By Providence, they later ended up living very close to one another in Vence, France and met up again. They were both so happy about this!
Monique's convent was so poor that the nuns had to say their prayers in a drafty old garage. When Monique mentioned this to Matisse, he built them a lovely chapel, "The Chapelle du Rosaire." He considered it to be his he his greatest achievement.
This book says that the best time to visit the CDR is on an autumn morning when the sunlight falls across the huge stained glass windows and colors the whole chapel.
Monique's convent was so poor that the nuns had to say their prayers in a drafty old garage. When Monique mentioned this to Matisse, he built them a lovely chapel, "The Chapelle du Rosaire." He considered it to be his he his greatest achievement.
This book says that the best time to visit the CDR is on an autumn morning when the sunlight falls across the huge stained glass windows and colors the whole chapel.
October 18, 2018
So far this is the best Matisse book of my aquaintance. It checks several boxes. It has a reasonable amount of bio. It’s has a narrative with a climax. It has a good grasp of what Matisse was known for AND it hits two separate art periods of Matisse’s life through his friendship with his nurse (later a Dominican nun). It hits both the period where he was concerned with form as well as the period where he combined that with light. It also highlights what is arguably his best known work the modernist design of the Chapelle Du Rosaire. It’s just a wee bit long for reading aloud to large groups but doable.
September 12, 2016
I love how Matisse's studio is called the 'jungle studio' and he was called the 'wild beast' because he loved bright colors so much! Monique was his night nurse before entering a nursing convent & Matisse made many pictures of her. They met again & Monique showed Matisse a drawing she'd made of a design for a stained glass window. Matisse decided to repay Monique for her care of him by making a chapel for her order where he painted with light using the stained glass windows.
July 1, 2016
I liked that this book introduces matisses life as Full of color. but also focuses on his generous efforts to build the chapel which used to stained glass to "paint" the walls with light.
Great introduction to stained-glass and the quality of colored light--tissue paper lanterns or stained glass would be a fun project.
Great introduction to stained-glass and the quality of colored light--tissue paper lanterns or stained glass would be a fun project.
June 15, 2015
This was a gorgeous book that introduced the boys I babysit to the world of famous Western painters. The older boy loves art and sat looking at this book long after his brother had lost interest. Filled with gorgeous art and held together by a touching story, I strongly recommend this book to anyone in charge of small children!
September 8, 2015
This was a wonderful little addition to our Henri Matisse unit for art. As with other past artists that I didn't first enjoy their work, I have grown to have an appreciation for Matisse's contribution to the art community and his endless passion to discover new ways to create even when physically limited with some mediums.
April 8, 2009
My six year old and I LOVED this book. Of course, she loves books about artists, but this one was done particularly well IMO.
Here's a link to my review of it...
http://www.themommyjournal.com/archiv...
Here's a link to my review of it...
http://www.themommyjournal.com/archiv...
September 15, 2014
I love Matisse. This picture book captures the period of the painter's life when his health was failing. He created a beautiful chapel in southern France that is now at the top of my bucket list of things to see.
December 13, 2014
A great picture book introducing Matisse in his later years. It includes works of art in the pictures and real photo's of the chapel and the windows he designed. A great way to start a unit looking at his life.
July 7, 2016
Another delightful story about Henri Matisse's life. This one includes actual photo's at the back of his chapel, as well as representations of his actual works. Lots of ideas for me to think about for my term 3 art class.
September 17, 2017
It was remarkable. Reading this out loud to my class, they were either silent or gasping and looking around at each other wide eyed -- they were riveted from start to finish. It's playful and one I look forward to returning to.
September 14, 2010
I enjoy reading stories about artists. This one is quite well done and describes a part of Matisse's life that I was unaware of.
February 28, 2011
A great fictionalized story about a true event. There's not a lot of dialogue given to either Matisse or his nurse and it introduces the concept of stained glass and papercuts in a very nice way.
January 19, 2012
Now I want to go to France. :)
June 17, 2014
wonderfully told story of the Chapelle du Rosaire
December 15, 2015
Cool enough story about a famous artist. Nice layout of text and illustrations.
February 7, 2016
I love this series of picture books and this is the best yet! Such a wonderful introduction to a famous artist. Every reader will want to learn more.
January 13, 2018
Lovely story of Henri Matisse and a young woman named Monique, who cared for Matisse.
February 19, 2019
While this book doesn't give a lot of information on Henri Matisse, it does serve as a good introduction to the artist for children. My daughter and I both enjoyed it.
January 14, 2020
A sweet story about Matisse's later years.
June 18, 2021
I'm very fond of this book in Anholt's artist's series about painters during the Impressionist era. I have read several children's books about Matisse which I felt were very good.
However this book adds something extra that I didn't know about Matisse - his friendship with a young woman who he originally got to know as his night nurse after a serious operation. Monique helped Matisse to get well and paint again, and later went on to become a nun. Due to Matisse's admiration for Monique he eventually builds a lovely chapel with remarkable stained glass windows for her order.
A wonderful addition in Children's Lit for young students to learn more about this famous painter.
However this book adds something extra that I didn't know about Matisse - his friendship with a young woman who he originally got to know as his night nurse after a serious operation. Monique helped Matisse to get well and paint again, and later went on to become a nun. Due to Matisse's admiration for Monique he eventually builds a lovely chapel with remarkable stained glass windows for her order.
A wonderful addition in Children's Lit for young students to learn more about this famous painter.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews