Beauty for its own sake

As the V&A opens a new gallery of Islamic art, the author travels to Cairo to discover the origins of the museum's exquisite artefacts > Beauty for its own sake

A few years ago, I happened to look at Matisse's Snail in Tate Modern just after returning from Granada. The revolving slabs of colour in Matisse's papier coupé looked a lot like the tiles of the Alhambra. And that is not accidental. Matisse was an enthusiastic admirer of Islamic art. That is puzzling only if you search for a focus that is not there. Essentially, the purpose of Islamic art and architecture is its beauty. And that is not hard to understand at all.

The Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art at the V&A, London SW7 (020 7942 2000), opens on July 20; 'Word Into Art', British Museum, London WC1 (020 7323 8299), until September 3.