Complex sentence: It was natural in this climate of African interest that Picasso would look towards African artifacts as inspiration for some of his work; his interest was sparked by Henri Matisse who showed him a mask from the Dan region of Africa.
Split into simpler sentences: It was natural in this climate of African interest that Picasso would look towards African artifacts as inspiration for some of his work. His interest was sparked by Henri Matisse who showed him a mask from the Dan region of Africa.