That being said, there is a copy of Elderfield's tome on Matisse in my library, searching through it, I do find a couple things to like. I believe his dancers are universally liked. OTOH, can't figure out how that book got there!
Believe it or not, it takes a great deal of work and intuitive knowledge to develop a unique style of abstraction. So many people settle for a slight variation of what has gone before. Matisse may have been able to be more unique as he was one of the first to delve into abstraction. So it is doubly hard for us following him to be more unique.