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Lot Essay
“'Every painter is born somewhere, and even though he may later respond to the influences of other atmospheres, a certain essence – a certain “aroma” of his birthplace clings to his work”.
Marc Chagall, quoted in J. J. Sweeney, ‘An Interview with Marc Chagall,’ in Partisan Review, vol. XI, no. 1, Winter 1944, p. 90.
Executed circa 1976, Célébration au village sur fond multicolore is a rich and sumptuously worked gouache brimming with many of Chagall's most favoured and iconic motifs.
From the outset of his career, Chagall established himself as a colourist, manipulating with mastery both harmony and contrast so that colour became an essential element of his work in its own right. However, it was not until the latter part of his life that his colour achieved its full radiance and plenitude in his work. In the present work, Chagall has separated colour into several fields, but allows the composition to overflow and transcend its boundaries, much as Raoul Dufy did when exploring his notions of couleur-lumière. The combination of colour and form creates a strong sense of circular movement and a powerful, vibrant composition.
Here, the panoply of imagery drawn from Chagall's personal symbolic lexicon is masterfully - and characteristically - combined with folkloric iconography. The motifs that populate this dream-like world contain a wealth of visual references and meanings. Rural life is reflected in the rustic dwellings, which bear a striking resemblance to those of Chagall’s native Vitebsk. ‘The fact that I made use of cows, milkmaids, roosters and provincial Russian architecture as my source forms is because they are part of the environment from which I spring and which undoubtedly left the deepest impression on my visual memory of the experiences I have,’ Chagall explained (quoted in B. Harshav, ed., Marc Chagall on Art and Culture, Stanford, 2003, p. 83).
Marc Chagall, quoted in J. J. Sweeney, ‘An Interview with Marc Chagall,’ in Partisan Review, vol. XI, no. 1, Winter 1944, p. 90.
Executed circa 1976, Célébration au village sur fond multicolore is a rich and sumptuously worked gouache brimming with many of Chagall's most favoured and iconic motifs.
From the outset of his career, Chagall established himself as a colourist, manipulating with mastery both harmony and contrast so that colour became an essential element of his work in its own right. However, it was not until the latter part of his life that his colour achieved its full radiance and plenitude in his work. In the present work, Chagall has separated colour into several fields, but allows the composition to overflow and transcend its boundaries, much as Raoul Dufy did when exploring his notions of couleur-lumière. The combination of colour and form creates a strong sense of circular movement and a powerful, vibrant composition.
Here, the panoply of imagery drawn from Chagall's personal symbolic lexicon is masterfully - and characteristically - combined with folkloric iconography. The motifs that populate this dream-like world contain a wealth of visual references and meanings. Rural life is reflected in the rustic dwellings, which bear a striking resemblance to those of Chagall’s native Vitebsk. ‘The fact that I made use of cows, milkmaids, roosters and provincial Russian architecture as my source forms is because they are part of the environment from which I spring and which undoubtedly left the deepest impression on my visual memory of the experiences I have,’ Chagall explained (quoted in B. Harshav, ed., Marc Chagall on Art and Culture, Stanford, 2003, p. 83).