The term appeared in the 1950s and referred to the use of thick impasto into which other materials were often inserted. These included sand, mud, cement and shells. Matter painting was popularised by a group of Dutch and Belgian painters such as Bram Bogart, Jaap Wagemaker, Bert de Leeuw, René Guiette and Marc Mendelson. Its intention was to highlight the nature of painting and its materials. Other artists whose work is often associated with Matter painting are the French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet, the Spanish artist Antoni Tàpies and the American painter Julian Schnabel.