MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
[Shagal, Mark, Zakharovich, Moses]
Vitebsk, Belarus 1887-1985 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France (Russian/French)
Title: Sunday, from: Derrière le Miroir | Le Dimanches, 1954
Technique: Original Lithograph in Colours on Wove Paper
Paper size: 38.2 x 27.6 cm. / 15 x 10.9 in.
Image size: 35 x 27 cm. / 13.8 x 10.6 in.
Additional Information: This is a beautiful original lithograph in colours by Marc Chagall. It was printed in 1954 as part of the ‘Derrière le Miroir’ publication of 11 lithographs to accompany the exhibition titled “Paris” held at Galerie Maeght in 1954.
This is from the limited edition of 2,500 unsigned impressions.
It was printed by Mourlot, Paris, and published by Maeght Éditeur, Paris in 1954.
Literature: Mourlot, F., and Sorlier, C., (1998). Chagall: The Lithographs (Catalogue Raisonné). D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
Reference: Mourlot 98
Title: Siren and Fish, from: Nice and the Côte d’Azur | Sirène et Poisson, 1964
Technique: Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 74 x 52.5 cm. / 29.1 x 20.7 in.
Image size: 61.5 x 46.2 cm. / 24.2 x 18.2 in.
Additional Information: This lithograph is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right margin.
It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 150, at the lower left margin.
This work was printed in 1964 by Charles Sorlier after the Chagall’s Gouache of 1960 in a limited edition of 150 hand signed and numbered impressions.
It was published by Mourlot, Paris as part of Chagall’s celebrated series “Nice and the Côte d’Azur” that included 12 beautiful lithographs by Sorlier after Chagall.
The details of the artist and printer are inscribed in the plate at the lower part of the image and the edition details are stamped in black ink, verso. The stamp states “Marc Chagall – Sirène et Poisson – gouache sur papier – reproduite en lithographie – Ch. Sorlier graveur – Mourlot, Imp.”
The paper bears the Arches watermark in the right margin.
Provenance: Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, 3rd June 1992, lot 76
Private collection, Germany
Literature: Mourlot, F., & Sorlier, C. (1998). Chagall: The Lithographs V (Catalogue Raisonné). D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
Reference: CS. 28
Title: Little Peasants II | Petit Paysans II, 1968
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Wove Paper
Paper size: 60 x 48 cm. / 23.6 x 18.9 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” in the lower right margin.
It is also inscribed and hand numbered in pencil, one of 25 artist’s proofs aside from the standard edition of 50, at the lower left corner.
The lithograph was printed by Atelier Mourlot, Paris in a limited edition of 50 hand signed and numbered impressions and published by Maeght Éditeur, Paris in 1968.
Literature: Mourlot, F. & Sorlier, C. (1998). Chagall: The Lithographs (Catalogue Raisonne). D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
Reference: Mourlot 547
Condition: Very good condition. An area of pale toning around the image.
Title: The Blue Village (Second State) | Le village bleu (2e état), 1974
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Japan Nacré Paper
Paper size: 56 x 43 cm. / 22 x 16.9 in.
Image size: 38 x 31 cm. / 15 x 12.2 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right margin.
It is also and hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 50, at the lower left margin.
This work was printed in 1974 in a limited edition of 50 hand signed and numbered impressions, there were also ten artist’s proofs on Arches paper.
It was published by André Sauret, Monte Carlo in 1974.
Note:
The first state of this subject lacks the village, couple, mother and child, sun and the animal – all motifs central to Chagall’s visual language. The first state was used as a cover for the catalogue raisonné of the artist’s prints, Volume IV.
Literature: Mourlot, F., & Sorlier, C., (1998). Chagall: The Lithographs Vol. V (Catalogue Raisonné). D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
Reference: Mourlot 729
Condition: Good condition. Time-staining across the sheet.
Technique: Original Hand Signed, Inscribed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 62.5 x 47.5 cm. / 24.6 x 18.7 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right margin.
It is also inscribed and hand numbered in pencil “épreuve d’artiste” [artist’s proof], at the lower left margin. Our impression is one of 25 artist’s proofs with Roman numerals, aside from the standard edition of 50.
The paper bears athe Arches watermark in the right margin.
Literature:
Mourlot, F., & Sorlier, C., (1969). Chagall: The Lithographs III: 1962-1968 (Catalogue Raisonné). D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
Reference: Mourlot 557
Condition: Excellent condition. Very pale, unobtrusive staining around the image.
Title: The Rabbi of Vitebsk (The Praying Jew) | Le Rabbin de Vitebsk (Le Juif priant), 1924
Technique: Hand Signed and Numbered Etching and Aquatint in Colours on chine-colleé on Japan Paper
Paper size: 70 x 53.5 cm. / 27.6 x 21 in.
Image size: 47 x 36.5 cm. / 18.5 x 114.3 in.
Additional Information: This etching and aquatint in colour is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right margin.
It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 100, at the lower left margin.
It was printed and published circa 1930 by the Éditions Apollo Artistiques, Paris based on an oil painting of the same name from 1923.
Note:
The oil painting “The Praying Jew” on which this work is based is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. This, along with one other version in oil held by the Ca’ Pesaro, Venice, were created in 1923 upon the artist’s return to Paris following the First World War. On his arrival in Paris it became clear much of the works he had created before the outbreak of war had not survived and so Chagall created these two paintings based on an oil he created in Vitebsk in 1914.
The central figure was a beggar in Vitebsk who the artist had paid to wear his father’s prayer clothes in an attempt to capture what Chagall felt were fast disappearing traditions.
The composition although solemn in choice of palette shows the influence of Cubism on Chagall – proving that even the most traditional subjects from the artist’s life in Vitebsk can be viewed alongside the burgeoning Parisian Avant-garde.
Condition: Very good condition. Time-staining around the image. Remnants of hinging tape along the upper sheet edge.
Title: And you tied around your Tender Neck Intoxicating Garlands …, from: The Land of the Gods | Et tu nouais de ton tendre col d’enivrantes guirlandes… : Sur la terre des Dieux, 1967
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 65 x 50.5 cm. / 25.6 x 19.9 in.
Image size: 39 x 34 cm. / 15.4 x 13.4 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right margin.
It is also inscribed in pencil from the edition of 25 reserved for the artist, author and collaborators, at the lower left margin. The standard edition was of 75 plus 25 artist’s proofs on Arches paper.
This work was printed in 1967 by Mourlot, Paris and published by A.C. Mazo, Paris in the same year.
This subject is the sixth of twelve lithographs comprising the portfolio “Sur la Terre des Dieux” [In the Land of the Gods].
The title of the work comes from the ancient Greek poet Sappho. “Et tu nouais de ton tendre col d’enivrantes guirlandes de fleurs ravissantes. La myrrhe en abondance, précieuse essence, digne d’un roi, parfumait ta tête bouclée” [And you tied around your tender neck intoxicating garlands of lovely flowers. The myrrh in abundance, precious essence, worthy of a king, perfumed your curly head].
The paper bears the Arches watermark in the right margin.
Title: Blessed Husband…, from: The Land of the Gods | Bienheureux époux…: Sur la terre des Dieux, 1967
Technique: Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 65 x 50.5 cm. / 25.6 x 19.9 in.
Image size: 45.5 x 36 cm. / 17.9 x 14.2 in.
Additional Information: This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right margin.
It is also inscribed in pencil from the edition of 25 reserved for the artist, author and collaborators, at the lower left margin. The standard edition was of 75 plus 25 artist’s proofs on Arches paper.
This work was printed in 1967 by Mourlot, Paris and published by A.C. Mazo, Paris in the same year.
This subject is the twelfth of twelve lithographs comprising the portfolio “Sur la Terre des Dieux” [In the Land of the Gods].
The title of the work comes from the ancient Greek poet Sappho. “Bienheureux époux, tu as l’hymen que tu désirais, et tu possèdes la vierge désirée” [Blessed husband, you have the hymen that you wanted, and you possess the virgin you desired].
The paper bears the Arches watermark in the right margin.
Title: The Song of Songs | Le Cantique des Cantiques, 1975
Technique: Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches Wove Paper
Paper size: 71 x 53.5 cm. / 28 x 21 in.
Image size: 52 x 43 cm. / 20.5 x 16.9 in.
Additional Information: This lithograph is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Marc Chagall” at the lower right corner.
It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 200, at the lower left margin.
It was printed by Charles Sorlier at Atelier Mourlot in 1957 in a limited edition of 200 signed and numbered impressions based on Chagall’s oil painting “Le Cantique des Cantiques III” (now in the collection of the Musée National Marc Chagall, Nice).
It was published by Éditions des Amis du Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice.
The paper bears the Arches watermark.
This work was used for a poster advertising the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall in Japan.
Literature: Sorlier, C. (1984). Chagall Lithographs. Vol. V 1974 – 1979. Crown Publishers, Inc.: New York.
Reference: CS 47
Condition: Very good condition. Very pale, unobtrusive staining around the image.
Marc Chagall (1887–1985) was a Russian-Belarusian-French painter of Jewish origin who was born in Belarus, at that time part of the Russian Empire. He is associated with the modern movements after impressionism. Born in 1887, his Jewish origins and rural upbringing in Russia had a lasting effect on Chagall’s life. His poetic mastery of dreams, memories and folklore dominated his work and commitment to original printmaking throughout his life. Chagall was 63 years old when he first came to Mourlot in 1950 to study the technique of colour lithography with Charles Sorlier. Already a famous artist with nothing to prove, Chagall nevertheless worked tirelessly to master the nuances and subtleties of this demanding medium for his own satisfaction. Marc Chagall fabricated a mystical world of lovers, musicians and artists in his work. He chose lithography as a print medium that could offer him almost unlimited painterly freedom to explore his world. “Something would have been lacking in my life if, in addition to my passion for colour, I had not been involved with engraving or lithography…Each time I held a lithographic stone or copperplate in my hand I thought I was touching a talisman. It seemed to me that I could put all my joys and sorrows in it…..Everything that touched my life through the years, births, deaths, weddings, flowers, animals, birds, the poor workers, my parents, lovers in the night, the biblical prophets, on the street, at home, in the temple and in heaven. And as I grew older, the tragedy of life within us and around us.” Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (1887–1985) was a Russian-Belarusian-French painter of Jewish origin who was born in Belarus, at that time part of the Russian Empire. He is associated with the modern movements after impressionism. Born in 1887, his Jewish origins and rural upbringing in Russia had a lasting effect on Chagall’s life. His poetic mastery of dreams, memories and folklore dominated his work and commitment to original printmaking throughout his life. Chagall was 63 years old when he first came to Mourlot in 1950 to study the technique of colour lithography with Charles Sorlier. Already a famous artist with nothing to prove, Chagall nevertheless worked tirelessly to master the nuances and subtleties of this demanding medium for his own satisfaction. Marc Chagall fabricated a mystical world of lovers, musicians and artists in his work. He chose lithography as a print medium that could offer him almost unlimited painterly freedom to explore his world. \"Something would have been lacking in my life if, in addition to my passion for colour, I had not been involved with engraving or lithography...Each time I held a lithographic stone or copperplate in my hand I thought I was touching a talisman. It seemed to me that I could put all my joys and sorrows in it.....Everything that touched my life through the years, births, deaths, weddings, flowers, animals, birds, the poor workers, my parents, lovers in the night, the biblical prophets, on the street, at home, in the temple and in heaven. And as I grew older, the tragedy of life within us and around us.\" Marc Chagall
