Matisse in the Studio review – genius crowded out by bric-a-brac

Royal Academy, London
Instead of providing insight into the mind of Matisse, this collection of the artist’s antique chairs and chocolate pots belittles his art and highlights his conservatism The women who posed for Henri Matisse are long gone. A black and white photograph, taken in 1928, portrays a model known as Zita reclining in culottes amid a carefully contrived boudoir of colourful throws and hangings – at least we imagine the furnishings and her clothes were colourful when th