How did Henri Matisse complete large artworks while working from his studio bed?

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Henri Matisse stands in a studio wearing a painter's smock, holding a palette beside a wooden ladder, with abstract artwork visible in the background. — Henri Matisse French artist Henri Matisse, photograph by Alvin Langdon Coburn, 1913.

During the final years of his life, Henri Matisse faced significant health challenges, including an intestinal tumor and later asthma and heart trouble, which left him bedridden for much of the time.1

Despite these physical limitations, he remained highly productive. To continue working on his large-scale mural projects while confined to his studio bed, he utilized a crayon attached to a long pole, which allowed him to reach and mark the surfaces from a distance. Additionally, he found that the process of creating paper cut-outs—a technique he referred to as "drawing with scissors"—was far more manageable than working directly with paint on canvas, enabling him to continue his artistic output with undiminished creative energy.12