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How did Pointillism influence Henri Matisse’s early experiments with color?

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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.

Henri Matisse’s early experiments with color were significantly influenced by Pointillism after he read the manifesto "D’Eugène Delacroix au Néo-Impressionnisme" by Paul Signac in 1899.1

While Matisse did not become an immediate convert to the movement, he became deeply interested in the Pointillist concept of achieving additive color mixtures on the retina through the use of juxtaposed dots of paint on the canvas. This interest in pure color was further explored alongside his friend Albert Marquet as they painted outdoor scenes in Paris and its suburbs.1

However, Matisse eventually moved away from this approach. During the summer of 1905, while working in the Mediterranean sunlight of Collioure, he sought to free himself from what he described as the "tyranny" of Pointillism. He abandoned the carefully placed, small dabs of paint in favor of spontaneous, expressive brushwork and bold, emotional displays of complementary colors. This transition marked the birth of Fauvism, a movement in which Matisse became the acknowledged leader.1