"The Thousand and One Nights" is divided into five main panels.

WSJ: Matisse's The Thousand and One Nights in Pittsburgh

Around the same time as "The Thousand and One Nights, " Matisse was overseeing the construction of the so-called Matisse Chapel on the French Riviera and the artist's self-proclaimed magnum opus.

WSJ: Matisse's The Thousand and One Nights in Pittsburgh

One of the most beloved pieces Matisse made during those last few years is an abstract take on "One Thousand and One Nights, " the famed collection of Middle Eastern folk tales relayed by the fictional Scheherazade each evening to avoid death at the hands of a murderous Persian king.

WSJ: Matisse's The Thousand and One Nights in Pittsburgh