In 1942 the publisher Elf Tériade commissioned Matisse to make a book of colour images. Matisse selected Jazz as the title to reflect the vibrancy and rhythm of the images and although conceived as a book on the circus he began to incorporate other subjects and motifs. This image shows a couple on the right, as a huddled white form, framed in a window of blue, while the jagged and slightly threatening shape on the left represents fate or destiny. Following surgery for cancer in 1941, Matisse began to work with cut-outs; the sensual forms of the cut paper became an iconic part of his practice.