The world of Matisse

Henri Matisse was a revolutionary artist. The French painter was at first dubbed a fauve, or wild beast, for his experiments with colour, but Matisse rejected the notion that artists should present an illusion of reality. He was inspired by the world around him. His eye appreciated everything from the light and hues of the south of France to the intricate patterns of Islamic art to African sculpture to Chinese calligraphy. In Matisse in the Studio, at the Royal Academy of Arts in London until November 12, we see this world. Like his friend and rival, Pablo Picasso, Matisse transformed the world of art forever, but in his own radical way.

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