Before Henri Matisse, the art world revered muted, realistic colors painted with painstaking exactness. However, Matisse changed the paradigm of painting with the genre of Fauvism. Using flat forms and unnatural colors, Fauvism altered how the world viewed color, no longer associating color with a specific role. Throughout his career, Matisse sought new methods to stretch the purpose of color, culminating in his controversial cut-outs. Despite facing harsh criticism for his “childish” creations, the artist is now celebrated as one of the forefronts of our modern art movement. By shifting art away from exactitudes and into abstraction, Matisse opened up possibilities for artists to explore through his innovative use of color, form, and perspective.