Exhibition catalog for MUDEC—Museum of Cultures in Milan—from October 8, 2026, to February 21, 2027.
The exposition Matisse. The World in a Room , on view at the Mudec in Milan from October 8, 2026, to February 21, 2027, reinterprets the great artist’s work from an innovative perspective, showing how his artistic language was profoundly shaped by his encounter with non-European art (African, Islamic, Russian, Chinese, and Pacific cultures), thereby redefining the very boundaries of Western modernism.
Organized in collaboration with the Musée Matisse in Nice and curated by two leading experts, Ellen McBreen and Chiara Gatti, the exhibition traces Henri Matisse’s entire artistic career through approximately one hundred works—including paintings, works on paper, sculptures, and photographs—presented alongside ethnic objects and textiles from major museums and collections such as the Quai Branly. It is further enriched by a collection of vintage photographs, notably featuring a series of previously unpublished shots taken by the painter in Morocco.
In addition to reproductions of all the works on display, the catalog features side-by-side comparisons of various iconic works by the great master and is enriched by a series of essays by leading experts.
Ellen McBreen, art historian and leading expert on Matisse. She co-curated the exhibition *Matisse in the Studio* ( MFA, Boston, and Royal Academy, London), and *Migrating Objects: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas* ( Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, 2020). She served as Director of the Wheaton Institute for the Interdisciplinary Humanities (fall 2022–spring 2024).
Chiara Gatti, historian, art critic, and director of the MAN Museum in Nuoro. She writes for *la Repubblica*, *il Venerdì*, and *Robinson*, and, together with Lea Vergine, she co-authored *L’arte non è faccenda di persone perbene* (Rizzoli, 2016).
