The Royal Academy of Arts are shining a light on Henri Matisse and his studio, revealing how his personal collection of works provided inspiration on his own work. Here’s what critics have been saying about the exhibition:
The Moorish Screen, 1921, Henri Matisse, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Bequest of Lisa Norris Elkins, 1950. Photo (c) Philadelphia museum of Art/Art Resource, NY (c) Succession H. Matisse/DACS 2017.
The Independent: **** “This gorgeous and surprisingly revealing exhibition allows us to experience the intimate thought processes of Henri Matisse as he worked in the hedonistic cocoon of his studio”
City AM: **** “It’s an intriguing angle to approach Matisse’s work, illustrating how the collection of visual stimuli was vital to the working practise of one of our most revered artists.”
The Guardian: ** “His studio, it seems from this exhibition, was a place where he could strip objects from all over the world of their original meanings, forget their contexts, and use them in his own fantasies of colour, sex, tranquility and freedom. It makes his enterprise appear oddly trivial. The curators get close to killing the god they love.”
Evening Standard: ***** “The show causes you to enjoy directness when it’s there. And it encourages you to use your imagination in something like the way Matisse used his.”
The Times: **** “Inspirational objects from Matisse’s ‘working library’ shed light on his artistic genius”
Culture Whisper: **** “Matisse in the Studio may not be a blockbuster exhibition, but it’s an exquisite insight into the mind of a Modern Master.”
The Telegraph: ***** “Ultimately, this show isn’t important because it creates the illusion of proximity to Matisse the man, by presenting us with the knick-knacks with which he surrounded himself. Its strength lies in its interrogation of the creative process.”
The Upcoming: **** “Matisse in the Studio is a thrilling journey through the mind of an artist via the world of objects that inspired and informed his groundbreaking use of colour and form.”
The Arts Desk: “What is fascinating in this compilation is the chance to understand what, beyond his models and the views from his windows, caught his eye, often to such an extent that ownership became an important objective.”
Time Out: *** “Yes, this is yet another okay Matisse show, and it would’ve been great to see something that wasn’t, you know, Matisse.”
London Visitors: “This fascinating exhibition offers an opportunity to understand elements of the creative process and how an artist’s personal collection can inspire paintings, sculptures and drawings.”
Matisse in the Studio is on display at the Royal Academy of Arts until the 12th November. For more information visit: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/matisse-in-the-studio