Narrator: In 1952, Matisse was commissioned by the Time Life Company to create a stained glass window for holiday celebrations at Rockefeller Center. He called this work Nuit de Noël, or Christmas Eve. But before committing a design to glass, Matisse made this maquette, or model, with cut-and-pasted paper. Look closely at the paper stars that dominate the scene.
Curator, Jodi Hauptman: There are forms that appear as if Matisse could have cut out from a single sheet but instead he builds it up from small bits. This is an artist who's very good at cutting; but instead of cutting a five-pointed star just out of a single sheet, he always builds a star out of five triangles. And so that's been an ongoing question: Why does he do that? Is he trying to model it the way he would model sculpture, or even using paint? You know, what's the reason for that?
Narrator: On December 4, 1952, Matisse wrote to Alfred Barr, MoMA's Founding Director:
Henri Matisse (read by an actor): The stained-glass window has finally left for New York. It will be exhibited during the Christmas holiday at Rockefeller Center. If you have a chance to see it, you will agree with me that a maquette for a stained-glass window and the window itself are like a musical score and its performance by an orchestra.