Henri Matisse grew up in Bohain, France, a small textile (cloth goods) town in the northeastern part of France. His parents were middle-class seed merchants, raising seedlings to sell to the farmers who grew the cotton and other crops used in textile manufacturing. He briefly studied law in Paris when he was 18. At least until he was sent to the hospital, and forced to stay there for several weeks. Everyday his mother would bring him paper and paint. Matisse said that “this amazing hospital bed rest reopened his dormant love of art.” This realization lead Matisse to being one of the most well known artists in France.
