907 The Matisse Rose

This is an authorised reproduction of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Memorial Rose Window and is the last completed work of Henri Matisse who suffered a fatal heart attack on November 3, 1954, just a few days after completing it. A founder of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Mrs. Rockefeller had been a patron and friend of Matisse. Consequently, the Rockefeller family thought of Matisse when the idea for a memorial window to replace the pale translucent glass rose window was discussed in the spring of 1954. When approached about the window Matisse, who was eighty-four year old, initially declined the commision. "I have thought over carefully your proposal....and have come to realize how far away I am from its place of destination. Unfortunately, my health does not permit me to travel. Thus I could not have a feeling for the general surroundings in which the rose window is to be placed. Consequently, I feel I must forego the privilege of executing this project, despite the great interest I have in it." The response of the Rockefeller family was to arrange to have sent to Matisse photographs of the Church's exterior and interior as well as an enlargement of the architect's drawings of the east window. After studying these materials, Matisse agreed to undertake the work. He would do it as an "expression of my feelings toward Mrs. Rockefeller of whom I have such a warm and vivid memory. A letter from Matisse dated November 1,1954, just two days before his death, states triumphantly; "I have been able to complete, I think happily, the work which I have undertaken." He went on to say; "For me the novelty and the absorbing aspect of this work is the challenge to express myself in a defined and limited space, and to harmonize my composition not only with the form of the actual framework but also with the atmosphere of the chapel." The window was dedicated on Mother's Day, May 13,1956.

Dimensions round 21 3/4" diameter.

Price $159.95

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