Works by Marc Chagall Featured at artnet Auctions Sale

Written by Claude Abraham Friday, 29 April 2011 23:07

NEW YORK, NY.- – From April 30-May 4, artnet Auctions offers 45 prints, tapestries and works on paper by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) with estimates ranging from $2,000 to $80,000 for works on paper. The works cover the artist’s prolific career, and include his collaborations with his printer Charles Sorlier. Chagall’s popular bouquet prints are represented by La Bataille de Fleurs (estimate: $27,000-$29,000), and Roses et Mimosas (estimate: $26,500-$28,500), both from 1967.

The artist’s explorations of the Bible are presented in 13 works, including the magnificent hand-colored etching La Femme de Potiphar, 1931-1939, which shows Potiphar’s lusty young wife making erotic overtures to the prophet Joseph (estimate: $8,000-$10,000); an important pen and ink entitled The Vision of the Prophet Obadiah, 1956, which chronicles the prophet’s apocalyptic dream of the destruction of the city of Edom (estimate: $60,000-80,000); and Crucifixion Grise, 1970, one of Chagall’s most moving portrayals from the New Testament (estimate: $4,000-$6,000).

The 2nd Century Greek story of star-crossed lovers, Daphnis and Chloe, inspired Chagall to create his suite by the same name, which is among his most beautiful and highly sought-after works. Featured from the suite is Le Printemps, 1961, is a sparkling impression in rich tones of blue (estimate: $14,000-$16,000).

Chagall had a life-long love of the theater and the circus. Two extremely rare prints from Circus, 1967, are offered including one that has not appeared at auction since 1991(estimate: $55,000-65,000 each). Rounding out the sale is Carmen, 1966, which was based off of a detail of the artist’s enormous painting, The Triumph of Music, which hangs in the Metropolitan Opera in New York (estimate: $38,500-$40,500).

Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century." According to art historian Michael J. Lewis, Chagall was considered to be "the last survivor of the first generation of European modernists." For decades, he "had also been respected as the world's preeminent Jewish artist." Using the medium of stained glass, he produced windows for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, windows for the United Nations, and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. He also did large-scale paintings, including part of the ceiling of the Paris Opéra.

Chagall's early life left him with a "powerful visual memory and a pictorial intelligence". After living in France and experiencing the atmosphere of artistic freedom, his "vision soared and he created a new reality, one that drew on both his inner and outer worlds." But it was the images and memories of his early years in Belarus that would sustain his art for more than 70 years

Browse the sale at > http://www.artnet.com/Chagall .

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