Letter from Henri Matisse, Nice, to Paul Rosenberg, 1941 January 15 : autograph manuscript signed.

Matisse is in the hospital in Lyon for intestinal surgery that he says is not significant or dangerous. [He had intestinal cancer] He was very interested in what Rosenberg had to say in his letter about the Rockefeller decoration [likely the mural he did to go above Rockefeller's fireplace in his living room]. He says that Rosenberg is right to want a soft relationship between the wood and the painting. Gilding would be good--gilding of the piece of wood and 7-8 cm on the flat part. As for the irregular contours of the wood, Matisse isn't concerned about it because the painting was composed for this kind of contours and can't be changed. For the preservation of this painting, Rosenberg needs to get in touch with David Rosen, a museum art restorer, to take care of it. He's a friend of Matisse's. Rosenberg should ask him to do a light cleaning of the painting, since the painting is 2 years old, and to retouch the varnish lightly and put on a light layer of white wax. He says that Rosen is well acquainted with this procedure. He discussed it with Rosen the last time he saw him. Matisse says that it will be the best way to deal with the painting. The varnish awakens the colors, and the wax attenuates the shininess in the same way that varnish gives a nice luster. Matisse is being well taken care of. Madame Duthuit is with him, and so is his devoted secretary. He hopes to be better in a few weeks so he can get back to work.