From October 8, 2026, to February 21, 2027, MUDEC, the Museum of Cultures in Milan, presents a wide-ranging exhibition project dedicated to the relationship between Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869 – Nice, 1954) and the diverse cultures the artist encountered during his studies and on his expeditions beyond European borders. The exhibition, titled Matisse: The World in a Room, addresses a central issue in art history that has long been overlooked: the way in which African, Islamic, Russian, Pacific, and Chinese art helped shape Matisse’s artistic language from within, thereby redefining the very boundaries of Western modernism.
The exhibition is produced by 24 ORE Cultura, the publishing group of *Il Sole 24 Ore*, and is sponsored by the City of Milan through its Department of Culture. The project is organized in collaboration with the Musée Matisse in Nice and is supported by Unipol as the main sponsor, as well as by Turisanda1924—the exclusive travel brand of the Alpitour World group—Enel, and BPER Banca, which are participating as sponsors.
Curated by Ellen McBreen and Chiara Gatti, the exhibition is organized into eight sections, each of which explores a key theme in the evolution of Matisse’s artistic practice. The exhibition brings together approximately one hundred works—including paintings, works on paper, and sculptures—from some of the most prestigious international institutions, such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection in New York, MoMA, the Musée de l’Orangerie, the Musée Picasso, the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée du Quai Branly, the Bargello Museum in Florence, and the MUDEC itself. Further enriching the exhibition is a collection of objects and textiles—elements that played a fundamental role in the French artist’s work—on loan from the Musée Matisse in Nice, the Museum of Civilizations in Rome, and other international institutions, which help reconstruct the fabric of the dialogues Matisse wove with art and design from other cultural contexts.
A special focus is dedicated to the decorative projects and artist’s books created by Matisse throughout his career: among the works on display are the monumental diptych *Océanie*, the famous plates from the *Jazz* series, the illustrations for Stéphane Mallarmé’s *Poésies*, those for Henry de Montherlant’s *Pasiphaé*, and the preparatory drawings for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, considered the culmination of the artist’s multifaceted artistic exploration throughout his life. The exhibition is further enriched by a collection of period photographs, including some previously unpublished shots taken by Matisse himself during his stay in Morocco.
“Matisse: The World in a Room” aims to serve as a point of reference in the critical reevaluation of concepts such as otherness, primitivism, and Orientalism, with implications that extend far beyond the specific field of art history. The exhibition, in fact, stems from recent research—some of which has yet to be published—and is part of a broader, ongoing debate on the relationships between modern art, nationalism, and colonial culture.
The exhibition project also highlights the hybridization and coexistence, within Matisse’s work, of elements that appear to be worlds apart, such as Islamic-inspired arabesques and the geometric patterns characteristic of traditional Romanian clothing, or the Gelede masks of Yoruba culture and medieval Russian icons. According to the curators, tracing these multiple geocultural paths means bringing to light what is often hidden beneath the elegant surface of the artist’s works: the ambiguity, tension, and complexity of a creative imagination capable of drawing inspiration from distant worlds to construct one of the most experimental visual languages of the entire 20th century.
Accompanying the exhibition is a catalog, published by 24 ORE Cultura and edited by Ellen McBreen and Chiara Gatti themselves, enriched by contributions from leading international scholars. The book can be purchased at the MUDEC Design Store, as well as in all bookstores and through major online retailers.
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| Milan: An Exhibition at MUDEC on Matisse and His Dialogue with Non-European Cultures |
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