Matisse's Personal Objects on Display at Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts in London presents 'Matisse in the Studio', an exhibition that juxtaposes over 60 paintings by Henri Matisse with a selection of objects from his personal collection. The show, open until November 12, explores how everyday items—such as a glass vase, a pewter jug, molded cups, and a chocolate pot—recur throughout the artist's work. Matisse began acquiring African sculptures and masks from Parisian dealers in 1906, and his collection also included a Buddhist statue from Thailand, Bamana figures from Mali, North African textiles, and Islamic decorative arts. These objects, displayed alongside his paintings, reveal how the artist transformed his studio into a Wunderkammer that inspired his exotic odalisques of the 1920s. The exhibition draws on a 1951 quote by Matisse: 'The object is an actor. A good actor can play in ten different plays; an object can play a role in ten different pictures.'