Beasts of the Sea

{{Short description|1950 collage by Henri Matisse}}

{{Infobox Painting| image_file=Beasts of the Sea.jpg

| backcolor=#FBF5DF

| image_size=200px

| title=Beasts of the Sea

| artist=Henri Matisse

| year=1950

| type=Paper collage on canvas

| height_metric=295.5

| width_metric=154

| height_imperial=116{{frac|3|8}}

| width_imperial=60{{frac|5|8}}

| metric_unit=cm

| imperial_unit=in

| museum=National Gallery of Art

| city=Washington, D.C.

}}

Beasts of the Sea (French: Les bêtes de la mer) is a paper collage on canvas by Henri Matisse from 1950. It is currently in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.53815.html NGO, retrieved December 25, 2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041110010602/http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=53531+0+none |date=November 10, 2004 }} During the early-to-mid-1940s Matisse was in poor health. Eventually by 1950 he stopped painting in favor of his paper cutouts. Beasts of the Sea, is an example of Matisse's final body of works known as the cutouts.[http://www.centrepompidou.fr/education/ressources/ENS-matisse-EN/ENS-matisse-en.htm "Henri Matisse"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804202522/http://www.centrepompidou.fr/education/ressources/ENS-matisse-EN/ENS-matisse-en.htm |date=2008-08-04 }}, Pompidou Centre. Retrieved 25 December 2007.