During his short career as a clerk in a law office, Henri Matisse secretly took painting classes, eventually devoting himself to the pursuit of art full-time. He went to study in Paris, first at the Académie Julian and then at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he trained in the traditional academic style of his teachers Adolphe-William Bouguereau and Gustave Moreau. Under the influence of painters such as the Impressionists and Cézanne, as well as the light-filled landscapes of the French Riviera, Matisse forsook these conservative roots and developed a new style based on flat shapes of vivid color. In 1905, he exhibited work at the Salon d'Automne in Paris as the leader of the Fauves (French for "wild beasts"). This was an avant-garde movement that reduced painting to a bright palette, simple forms, and exuberant brushwork in order to communicate the fundamental elements of reality and sensation.

Matisse painted "The Young Sailor" in 1906, at the height of his involvement with the Fauves. The sitter of this picture is an eighteen-year-old fisherman, Germain Augustin Barthélémy Montargès, from the small Mediterranean village of Collioure, near the Spanish border. Against the flat, bright pink background, Germain wears typical fisherman's garb: a navy blue cap, a pullover over a white undershirt and blue-and-pink striped jersey, baggy green pants, green-and-white checked socks, and sturdy, laced-up shoes with rubber soles. His broad face is flat and mask-like, and the contours of his rounded limbs are crisp and defined, creating a sharp contrast to the loose brushstrokes that constitute them. Germain's rather theatrical looks and the work's bold palette, in which the figure's green and blue outfit is set against the pink, candy-colored ground, combine to make this painting one of Matisse's most decorative portraits in the Fauve manner.

Inscription: Signed and dated (lower left): Henri-Matisse /1906

the artist (1906–13; sold on October 9, 1913 to Bernheim-Jeune); [Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1913–22; stock no. 20027]; [Leopold Zborowski, Paris, 1922]; [J. B. Neumann, New York]; Hans Seligman-Schürch, Berlin and Basel (1923–52; sold on February 4, 1952, for $25,000, to Matisse); [Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1952; stock no. SP3, sold on March 22, 1952, partly by exchange, for $35,000, to Block]; Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Block, Chicago (1952–69); [Marlborough Gallery, New York, 1969; sold to Gelman]; Jacques and Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1969–his d. 1986); Natasha Gelman, Mexico City and New York (1986–d. 1998; her bequest to MMA)

Paris. Grand Palais des Champs Elysées. "Salon d'Automne," October 1-November 8, 1908, no. 902 (as "Jeune marin").

Odessa. location unknown. "International Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Prints and Drawing (Izdebsky Salon)," December 17, 1909-February 6, 1910, no. 396.

Kiev. location unknown. "International Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Prints and Drawing (Izdebsky Salon)," February 25-March 27, 1910, no. 396.

St. Petersburg. location unknown. "International Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Prints and Drawing (Izdebsky Salon)," May 2-June 7, 1910, no. 396.

Riga. location unknown. "International Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Prints and Drawing (Izdebsky Salon)," June 25-July 20, 1910, no. 396.

London. Grafton Galleries. "Second Post Impressionist Exhibition," October 5-December 31, 1912, no. 36 (as "Jeune Marin").

New York. Armory of the Sixty ninth Regiment. "International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)," February 15-March 15, 1913, no. 405 (as "Jeune Marin").

Art Institute of Chicago. "International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)," March 24-April 16, 1913, no. 241 (as "Young sailor").

Copley Hall, Copley Society of Boston. "International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)," April 28-May 19, 1913, no. 122 (as "Young Sailor").

New York. Montross Gallery. "Henri Matisse Exhibition," January 20-February 27, 1915, no. 63 (as "The Young Sailor").

Barcelona. Galeries Dalmau. "Exposició d'Art francès d'Avantguarda," October 26-November 15, 1920, no. 51 (as "Jeune marin").

Berlin. Galerien Thannhauser. "Henri Matisse," February 15-March 19, 1930, no. 18 (as "Sitzender Matrose") [either this picture or "The Young Sailor I"; see Ref. Rewald 1989].

Kunsthalle Basel. "Henri Matisse," August 9-September 15, 1931, no. 14 (as "Le Marin," lent by Hans Seligmann [sic], Berlin).

New York. The Museum of Modern Art. "Henri Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition," November 3-December 6, 1931, no. 14 (as "The Young Sailor," lent by Hans Seligman, Berlin).

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Henri Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture," April 3-May 9, 1948, no. 10 (as "The Young Sailor," lent by Hans Seligman, Basel).

Musée des Beaux Arts, Lucerne. "Henri Matisse," July 9-October 22, 1949, no. 34 (as "Le marin").

Kunsthalle Bern. "Les Fauves: Braque, Derain, Dufy, Friesz, Manguin, Marquet, Matisse, Valtat, van Dongen, Vlaminck," April 29-May 29, 1950, no. 97 (as "Le marin," lent by a private collection, Basel).

Venice. Biennale. "La XXV Biennale di Venezia: Fauves," June 8-October 15, 1950, no. 45 (as "Il marinaio," lent from a private collection, Basel).

Milan. Palazzo Reale. "Mostra di Matisse," November 1-21, 1950, no. 16, as "Il marinaio," lent from a private collection, Basel).

New York. The Museum of Modern Art. "Henri Matisse," November 13, 1951-January 13, 1952, no. 15 (as"The Young Sailor, II," lent by Hans Seligman Schürch, Basel).

Cleveland Museum of Art. "Henri Matisse," February 5-March 16, 1952, no. 15.

Art Institute of Chicago. "Henri Matisse," April 1-May 4, 1952, no. 15.

San Francisco Museum of Art. "Henri Matisse," May 22-July 6, 1952, no. 15.

Berkeley. UCLA Art Galleries. "Henri Matisse: Retrospective," January 5-February 27, 1966, no. 24 (as "The Young Sailor, II," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Leigh Block, Chicago).

Art Institute of Chicago. "Henri Matisse: Retrospective," March 11-April 24, 1966, no. 24.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Henri Matisse: Retrospective," May 11-June 26, 1966, no. 24.

New York. The Museum of Modern Art. "Henri Matisse: 64 Paintings," July 18-September 25, 1966, no. 12 (as "The Young Sailor, II," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Block, Chicago).

Washington. National Gallery of Art. "100 European Paintings & Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Block," May 4-June 11, 1967, no. 31 (as "Young Sailor [version II]").

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "100 European Paintings & Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Leigh B. Block," September 21-November 2, 1967, no. 31 (as "Young Sailor [version II]").

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "One Hundred European Paintings & Drawings from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Leigh B. Block," February 2–April 14, 1968, no. 32 (as "Young Sailor [version II]").

Paris. Grand Palais. "Henri Matisse: Exposition du centenaire," April-September 1970, no. 82 (as "Marin II," lent by M. et Mme Jacques Gelman, Mexico).

New York. Acquavella Galleries, Inc. "Henri Matisse," November 2-December 1, 1973, no. 5 (as "Jeune marin II," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Jacques Gelman).

Sydney. Art Gallery of New South Wales. "Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse," April 10-May 11, 1975, no. 64 (as "The Young Sailor," lent by Mr. and Mrs. Jacques Gelman, Mexico City).

Melbourne. National Gallery of Victoria. "Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse," May 28-June 22, 1975, no. 64.

New York. The Museum of Modern Art. "Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse," August 4-September 1, 1975, no. 64.

New York. The Museum of Modern Art. "The 'Wild Beasts': Fauvism and Its Affinities," March 26-June 1, 1976, unnumbered cat. (p. 96; lent by Mr. and Mrs. Jacques Gelman, Mexico City).

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "The 'Wild Beasts': Fauvism and Its Affinities," June 29-August 15, 1976, unnumbered cat.

Fort Worth. Kimbell Art Museum. "The 'Wild Beasts': Fauvism and Its Affinities," September 11-October 31, 1976, unnumbered cat.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Twentieth Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," December 12, 1989-April 1, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 88).

London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Twentieth Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection," April 19-July 15, 1990, unnumbered cat.

New York. The Museum of Modern Art. "Henri Matisse: A Retrospective," September 24, 1992-January 19,1993, no. 90 (as "The Young Sailor [II]").

Paris. Centre Georges Pompidou. "Henri Matisse 1904-1917," February 25-June 21, 1993, no. 45bis.

Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "De Matisse à Picasso: Collection Jacques et Natasha Gelman," June 18-November 1, 1994, unnumbered cat. (p. 113).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Painters in Paris: 1895 1950," March 8, 2000–-January 14, 2001,unnumbered cat. (p. 64).

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "Picasso and the School of Paris: Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," September 14-November 24, 2002, no. 9.

Tokyo. Bunkamura Museum of Art. "Picasso and the School of Paris: Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," December 7, 2002-March 9, 2003, no. 9.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions," October 24, 2008-February 1, 2009, online catalogue.

André Derain. Letter to Henri Matisse. end April 1907 [published in Ref. Labrusse and Munck 2005, pp. 343–45].

Alexandre Benois. "The 'Salon' and Bakst's School." Rech' [Speech] (May 1, 1910) [English transl. published in Ilia Dorontchenkov, ed., Russian and Soviet Views of Modern Western Art: 1890s to Mid-1930s, Berkeley, 2009, p. 100].

Nikolai Breshko-Breshkovskii. "The Salon." Birzhevye vedomosti [Stock Exchange Gazette] (April 21, 1910) [English transl. published in Ilia Dorontchenkov, ed., Russian and Soviet Views of Modern Western Art: 1890s to Mid-1930s, Berkeley, 2009, p. 100].

Henri Matisse. Letter to Walter Pach. December 6, 1912 [reproduced and published in English transl. in Ref. Cauman 1991, pp. 3, 5].

[Charles H. Caffin]. "The International—Yes—But Matisse and Picabia? Work of Leading Spirits in Modern Movement is Discussed in Contrast." New York American (March 3, 1913), p. 8.

Charles Henry Dorr. "Cubists and Futurists Have Reached America." World (February 23, 1913), section 2, p. 2.

W. D. MacColl. "The International Exhibition of Modern Art: An Impression." Forum 1 (July 1913), p. 34.

Charles H. Caffin. "Matisse's Career Is Shown in Representative Exhibition." New York American (January 25, 1915), p. 8.

Walter Pach. "Why Matisse?" Century Magazine (February 1915), pp. 633–36, ill.

Marcel Sembat. Henri Matisse. Paris, 1920, ill. p. 31.

Jan Gordon. Modern French Painters. London, 1929, ill. opp. p. 86 (color).

A[lfred]. H. B[arr]., Jr. Henri Matisse: Retrospective Exhibition. Exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1931, pp. 13–14, 38, 46, no. 14, ill.

Virginia Nirdlinger. "The Matisse Way. Forty Years in the Evolution of an Individualist." Parnassus 3 (November 1931), p. 6.

Christian Zervos. "Henri-Matisse. Notes on the Formation and Development of His Work." Henri Matisse. Paris, 1931, ill. between pp. 14 and 15.

Roger Fry. Henri-Matisse. New York, 1935, pl. 7.

R. H. Wilenski. Modern French Painters. New York, [1940], pp. 198, 201, 233.

Leo Swane. Henri Matisse. Stockholm, 1944, pp. 60–61, fig. 11.

Leo Stein. Appreciation: Painting, Poetry, and Prose. New York, 1947, p. 192.

Frank Caspers. "Philadelphia Honors Henri Matisse with Impressive Retrospective." Art Digest 22, no. 14 (April 15, 1948), ill. p. 9.

Art News 49 (September 1950), p. 5, ill. and on cover (color).

Maurice Raynal et al. History of Modern Painting. Vol. 2, Matisse, Munch, Rouault: Fauvism, Expressionism. Geneva, 1950, ill. p. 30 (color).

Denys Sutton. "Aspects of the Venice Biennale. I. The Fauves." Burlington Magazine 92 (September 1950), p. 265.

Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Matisse: His Art and His Public. New York, 1951, pp. 82, 93–94, 97, 128–29, 149–50, 157, 163, 179, 194, 246, ill. p. 335.

Bernard Myers. "Matisse and the Fauves." American Artist 15 (December 1951), pp. 71, 86, ill.

Frank Anderson Trapp. Harvard University. The Paintings of Henri Matisse: Origins and Early Development (1890–1917). 1951, pp. 118–19, fig. 88.

Henri Matisse. Portraits. Monte-Carlo, 1954, ill. p. 91 (color).

Georges Duthuit. Matisse, periode fauve. Paris, 1956, p. 15, colorpl. 5.

Gaston Diehl. Notices by Agnès Humbert. Henri Matisse. [Paris], 1958, pp. 41, 101, 106, 121, pl. 26.

Jacques Lassaigne. Matisse. Lausanne, 1959, p. 60.

Bernard Myers. Modern Art in the Making. New York, 1959, pp. 279–81, fig. 138.

Jean Paul Crespelle. Les Fauves. Neuchâtel, 1962, colorpl. 8.

Charles Chassé. Les Fauves et leur temps. Paris, 1963, colorpl. 11.

Samuel Sachs, II. "Reconstructing the 'whirlwind of 26th Street'." Art News 61 (February 1963), ill. p. 26 (installation photo).

1913 Armory Show: 50th Anniversary Exhibition, 1963. Exh. cat., Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Utica. New York, 1963, p. 197.

Lawrence Gowing. Henri Matisse: 64 Paintings. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York. New York, 1966, pp. 12, 61, no. 12, ill. p. 26.

Henry J. Seldis. "The Magic of Matisse." Apollo 83 (April 1966), p. 250.

Joseph Emile Muller. Fauvism. New York, 1967, p. 46, colorpl. 36.

Gaston Diehl. Henri Matisse. Paris, 1970, pp. 14, 35, 57, ill. p. 12.

Jean Louis Ferrier. "1907: The Painter of 'Intimate Immensity'." XXe Siècle: Homage to Henri Matisse (1970), ill. p. 40.

Pierre Schneider with Tamara Préaud, eds. Henri Matisse: Exposition du centenaire. Exh. cat., Grand Palais. Paris, 1970, p. 72, no. 82, ill. p. 155.

Massimo Carrà. L'Opera di Matisse dall rivolta 'fauve' all'intimismo, 1904–1928. Milan, 1971, pp. 88–89, no. 86, ill. and colorpl. XIV.

[Louis] Aragon. Henri Matisse: A Novel. New York, 1972, vol. 1, p. 301, colorpl. XLVI.

John Elderfield. The "Wild Beasts": Fauvism and Its Affinities. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York. New York, 1976, p. 81, ill. p. 96 (color).

John Russell. "The Birth of a Wild Beast." Horizon 18 (Summer 1976), pp. 8–9, ill. (color).

H. H. Arnason. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. rev. ed. New York, 1977, p. 117, fig. 179.

Lawrence Gowing. Matisse. New York, 1979, pp. 59–60, 206, fig. 42.

Catherine C. Bock. Henri Matisse and Neo Impressionism, 1898–1908. PhD. diss., . Ann Arbor, 1981, p. 112.

Marcel Giry. Fauvism: Origins and Development. New York, 1982, p. 149, colorpl. 61.

Magdalena Dabrowski in John Elderfield. The Drawings of Henri Matisse. Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery. London, 1984, pp. 255–56, under no. 19.

Jack Flam in "Primitivism" in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern. Ed. William Rubin. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 221, 223, 238 n. 79, ill.

Nicholas Watkins. Matisse. Oxford, 1984, p. 119, pl. 103.

John Klein. "Book Reviews." Art Journal 45 (Winter 1985), pp. 360, 367 n. 3.

Jack Flam. Matisse: The Man and His Art, 1869–1918. Ithaca, 1986, pp. 19, 148, 175, 178, 187, 190, 234, 296, 301, 321, 347, 396, fig. 167 (color).

Roger Benjamin. Matisse's "Notes of a Painter": Criticism, Theory, and Context, 1891–1908. Ann Arbor, 1987, pp. 112, 165, 291 nn. 196, 198.

Bernard Noël. Matisse. 2nd rev. ed. Paris, 1987, p. 23, ill. p. 29.

Milton W. Brown. The Story of the Armory Show. 2nd ed. [1st ed., 1963]. New York, 1988, pp. 127, 292.

Lawrence Gowing in Twentieth Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 19–20.

William S. Lieberman in Twentieth Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 2–3, fig. 3 (color, installation photo).

Sabine Rewald in Twentieth Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 86, 88–91, 304, ill. (color and bw).

Pierre Schneider in Twentieth Century Modern Masters: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Ed. William S. Lieberman. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 24–26, 29–30.

Yve Alain Bois. Painting as Model. Cambridge, Mass., 1990, p. 266 n. 46.

John Cauman. "Henri Matisse's Letters to Walter Pach." Archives of American Art Journal 31, no. 3 (1991), pp. 3, 5, ill. p. 9.

Gilles Néret. Matisse. [Paris], 1991, pp. 44, 49, 51–52, 97, fig. 65.

John Elderfield. Henri Matisse: A Retrospective. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York. New York, 1992, pp. 133, 135, 165, no. 90, ill. (color).

Dominique Fourcade and Isabelle Monod Fontaine. Henri Matisse 1904–1917. Exh. cat., Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, 1993, pp. 214–15, 440, no. 45bis, ill. (color and bw).

Walter Guadagnini. Matisse. Milan, 1993, pp. 14–16, 93, 101, ill.

Isabelle de Wavrin. "L'Œil infaillible de Jacques Gelman." Beaux Arts, no. 125 (July August 1994), pp. 46–47, ill. (color).

Sophie Monneret. Matisse. Paris, 1994, p. 92, no. 102, ill.

Guy Patrice and Michel Dauberville. Matisse: Henri Matisse chez Bernheim Jeune. Paris, 1995, vol. 1, pp. 416–17, no. 73, ill.

Jonathan Fineberg. "The Innocent Eye." Art News 94 (April 1995), pp. 118, 121, ill. (color).

Bernard Zürcher. Les Fauves. Paris, 1995, pp. 189–90, ill. (color).

Gilles Néret. Henri Matisse. Cologne, 1996, pp. 44–45, 54–55, 92, ill. (color).

Jonathan Fineberg. The Innocent Eye: Children's Art and the Modern Artist. Princeton, 1997, pp. 15–16, 18, 228, fig. 1.10 (color).

Anna Gruetzner Robins. Modern Art in Britain 1910–1914. Exh. cat., Barbican Art Gallery. London, 1997, pp. 80–81, 191.

Hilary Spurling. The Unknown Matisse. A Life of Henri Matisse: The Early Years, 1869–1908. New York, 1998, pp. 373, 378, fig. 30 (color).

Sabine Rewald. "A Sailor's Yarn." Art in America 87 (October 1999), pp. 119–22, ill. (color).

John H. Cauman. "Matisse and America, 1905–1933." PhD. diss., City University of New York, 2000, vol. 1, pp. 27–28, 191, 193, 201, 204, 229, 258, 262, 271, 276–77, 494; vol. 2, fig. 1.12.

Christopher Green. Art in France 1900–1940. New Haven, 2000, pp. 237–38, fig. 281.

Grace Glueck. "When One City Was the Heart of Art's Youth." New York Times (March 10, 2000), p. E39.

John Klein. Matisse Portraits. New Haven, 2001, pp. 13, 256 n. 28.

Werner Schnell. "Das rote Atelier" des Henri Matisse—ein Bild und seine Verwandten. Berlin, 2001, pp. 33, 70, 75, fig. 10.

Pierre Schneider. Matisse. rev. ed. [English ed., 1984]. Paris, 2002, pp. 281, 372, 393, 410, 414, 591, ill. p. 237(color).

Chika Amano in Henri Matisse: Processus / Variation. Exh. cat., National Museum of Western Art. Tokyo, 2004, p. 12, ill. p. 46.

Alastair Wright. Matisse and the Subject of Modernism. Princeton, 2004, pp. 150–52, 256 n. 80.

Joséphine Matamoros in Matisse Derain: Collioure 1905, un été fauve. Exh. cat., Musée départemental d'Art moderne, Céret. [Paris], 2005, pp. 22–23, 289 n. 68.

Jack Flam in Matisse Derain: Collioure 1905, un été fauve. Exh. cat., Musée départemental d'Art moderne, Céret. [Paris], 2005, pp. 39–41, 43, 231, no. 177, ill. (color and bw).

Claudine Grammont in Matisse Derain: Collioure 1905, un été fauve. Exh. cat., Musée départemental d'Art moderne, Céret. [Paris], 2005, pp. 278, 280, 282, 284.

Rémi Labrusse and Jacqueline Munck. Matisse Derain: La Vérité du fauvisme. Paris, 2005, pp. 100, 105, 107–8, 110, 133, 200, 276, 285, 316, 343–45 n. 113, colorpl. 87.

Yve-Alain Bois. "A De Luxe Experiment: Le Luxe, II." Matisse: Masterpieces at Statens Museum for Kunst. Copenhagen, 2005, pp. 113, 115, 130 n. 7.

Margaret Werth. "Nu à l'echarpe blanche: Une étoffe épaisse et chargée." Matisse: Masterpieces at Statens Museum for Kunst. Copenhagen, 2005, pp. 150, 153–54.

Claude Jeancolas. L'Art fauve. Paris, 2006, pp. 130–31, 137, 144, ill. (color).

Peter Kropmanns in Matisse: People, Masks, Models. Exh. cat., Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Munich, 2008, pp. 60, 69 n. 9, fig. 5 (color).

Stephanie D'Alessandro in Stephanie D'Alessandro and John Elderfield. Matisse: Radical Invention 1913–1917. Exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 2010, p. 224.

Janet Bishop, Cécile Debray, and Rebecca Rabinow, eds. The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde. Exh. cat., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco, 2011, pp. 141, 200.