.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The Comité Marc Chagall has confirmed the authenticity of this painting.
Le clown violoniste au cirque includes many of the motifs so recognizable in Chagall's paintings of lovers, marriage and religion. Typical of the artist's style, the married couple, the violinist, the donkey and clown all appear to float in their own ambiguous space, but still contribute to the contrast between the brightly painted performers and the silhouettes of the expectant crowd to strongly evoke the sights, sounds and excitement of the circus performance. "For me the circus is a magic show which appears and disappears like a world. A circus is disturbing, it is profound...It is a magic word. The circus is a timeless game where tears and smiles, the play of arms and legs take the form of great art" (the artist quoted in Marc Chagall, Le Cirque, Paintings 1969-70, exh. cat., Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1981, p. 26).
Le clown violoniste au cirque includes many of the motifs so recognizable in Chagall's paintings of lovers, marriage and religion. Typical of the artist's style, the married couple, the violinist, the donkey and clown all appear to float in their own ambiguous space, but still contribute to the contrast between the brightly painted performers and the silhouettes of the expectant crowd to strongly evoke the sights, sounds and excitement of the circus performance. "For me the circus is a magic show which appears and disappears like a world. A circus is disturbing, it is profound...It is a magic word. The circus is a timeless game where tears and smiles, the play of arms and legs take the form of great art" (the artist quoted in Marc Chagall, Le Cirque, Paintings 1969-70, exh. cat., Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York, 1981, p. 26).