Modern Masters - Matisse

Journalist Alastair Sooke sets out to discover just how much the artist Henri Matisse has influenced our modern lives. Tracing the biography of this fascinating artist, and travelling through France, America and Russia, the programme explores some of the painter's greatest works. Sooke explains why Matisse's art is considered so great and also looks at how Matisse's brilliant use of colour and simplification of form continues to inspire illustrators, designers and of course artists today. Acknowledging the debt the famous couturier Yves St Laurent owed the painter, Sooke also talks to British designers Sir Paul Smith and Tricia Guild about their passion for Matisse, he travels to Utrecht to discover how even children's character Miffy the rabbit owes its origin to art, and reveals how logos and images as diverse as Apple's iPod advertising and even the 2012 Olympic logo are inspired by the modern master. The programme is second in a series looking at four great modern artists: Warhol, Matisse, Picasso and Dali.