Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION
Marc Chagall (1887-1985)

Le bouquet devant la fenêtre

Details
Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Le bouquet devant la fenêtre
signed, dated and dedicated 'Pour Nina et Rudi Marc Chagall 1966' (lower right); signed again 'Marc Chagall' (on the reverse)
gouache, watercolor, pastel and pen and India ink on paper
22 7/8 x 18¼ in. (58 x 46.3 cm.)
Painted in 1966
Provenance
Sir Rudolf and Nina Bing, New York (acquired from the artist, 1966).
Acquired by the present owner, circa 1996.

Lot Essay

The Comité Marc Chagall has confirmed the authenticity of this work.

For Chagall, the 1960s was a decade characterised by intense creative activity. He received several large-scale public commissions including the commission for the Jerusalem Windows, whose unveiling in Paris in 1961 established his reputation as one of the most influential architectural designers of the day. Chagall had, from the outset of his career, established himself as a colorist, but it was not until this latter part of his life that color achieved its full radiance and plenitude in his work. Chagall regarded his work in stained glass as similar to painting in light, an extension of the luminous and intense palette he employed when depicting the dramatic contrasts and subtle harmonies of a bouquet of flowers.

He said that when he painted a bouquet it was as if he was painting a landscape. It represented France to him. But the discovery was also a logical one in the light of the change taking place in his vision and pictorial interests. Flowers, especially mixed bouquets of tiny blossoms, offer a variety of delicate color combinations and a fund of texture contrasts which were beginning to hold Chagall's attention more and more (J.J. Sweeney, Marc Chagall, New York, 1946, p. 56).

More from Impressionist and Modern Day Sale and Works on Paper

View All
View All