Marc Chagall 1887-1985
Fleurs de Gstaad, la joie de vivre, 1971
Signed 'Marc Chagall' lower right
India ink wash, watercolour, gouache, inks, pastel and pencil on paper 30 5/8 x 21 3/8 in, 77.7 x 54.2 cm
Provenance
Galerie de l'Elyse´e (Alex Maguy), Paris.
Private collection, France (acquired from the above in 1972) Sale: Christie’s Paris, 2 December 2008, lot 99
Private collection, Paris (acquired at the above sale)
Literature
This work is accompanied by a certificate from Jean-Louis Prat, on behalf of the Comite´ Chagall, dated 9 December 2008 (no.2008111K)
Exhibitions
Paris, Galerie Alex Maguy, Pre´sence de la peinture, June-July 1972
Description
Marc Chagall’s 'Fleurs de Gstaad, la joie de vivre' erupts with a riot of colour across the page, transforming the still life into a dazzling display of pyrotechnics. Painted in 1971, this is a wonderful example of Chagall’s mature style of dynamic colour, which echoed his large-scale public commissions. Creating murals, mosaics, tapestries and stained glass during this period, Chagall embraced a radiant colour palette in his works on paper that evoked the spiritual significance of his dream-like subjects.
'Fleurs de Gstaad, la joie de vivre' is filled with the complex symbolism Chagall had developed by this late stage in his career. Combining iconic motifs of the married couple and rooftops of his hometown Vitebsk with the snowy hills of Gstaad, Chagall juxtaposes the present with distant memories of the past and life with his first wife Bella. Amongst the lyrical, arabesque sweeps and delicate washes of blue, Chagall uses details of the low crescent moon and bird in flight to emphasise the poetry of the work. For Chagall, the bird soaring across the sky was a symbol of freedom that he repeated often in his oeuvre.
Gstaad, an elegant ski resort just a few hours away from Saint-Paul in the South of France where Chagall and his second wife Vava had settled in 1966, attracted many celebrities. It is likely that this work was made during Chagall’s stay at the Gstaad Palace Hotel as the guest of actor David Niven.
Antiques.co.uk Ref: 7NQ9MJNA
- Materials:
- India ink wash, watercolour, gouache, inks, pastel and pencil on paper
- Width (cm):
- 54.2
- Height (cm):
- 77.7
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