“Still Life With Shell” by Henri Matisse, 1940. © François Fernadez, Nice “Matisse in the Studio”, du 5 août au 12 novembre 2017 à la Royal Academy of Arts

The legendary artist known as Henri Matisse will be able to enjoy his works as they go on display at London’s Royal Academy of Arts thanks to the upcoming exhibition “Matisse in the Studio”. As one of the leading figures of Fauvism, his exotic creations were inspired by his travels and his paper cutouts. Born in Cateau-Cambrésis, France in 1969, the artist has been an artist whose skills have long been admired by the world.

Since his death in 1954 in Nice, the interest in his creations have increased over the years and now the independent privately funded institution, led by respected artists and architects have brought together a selection of Matisse’s works for us to enjoy. Running from August 5 to November 12, the exhibition will include a collection that gives us a glimpse into Matisse’s studio. Made up of 65 paintings, sculptures, drawing, prints and cutouts, the exhibition will be joined by 35 objects from the painter’s highly eclectic personal collection.

From a Roman torso to African masks, Chinese porcelain and even North African textiles from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the pieces are loaned from private collections or from the Musée Matisse in Nice. Not chosen solely for their aesthetic appeal but also as symbols of the traditions they represent, several of the pieces are being publicly exhibited outside of France for the first time. Visitors to the museum will be able to explore the roles that the objects played in his creative process, in five sections.

In the first section, the public will be able to view how Matisse used objects as actors, reappearing in various guises in several of the artist’s works. The second section brings to light the links between Matisse’s African sculptures and his representation of the human figure. In the third and fourth sections, the exhibition showcases the face in Matisse’s work and the 1920 Nice interiors when he relied heavily on studio props from the Islamic world, respectively. In the final section, the spotlight is directed to the influence that Chinese calligraphy played in his creations.