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Lot Essay
The Comité Marc Chagall has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
In December 1924, shortly before leaving for New York, the young Pierre Matisse arranged for Marc Chagall's first solo exhibition in France at the Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert. In 1927, the notable art critic Maurice Raynal included Chagall in his laudatory monograph, Modern French Painters. Despite this favor and recognition from his adopted country, Chagall still found himself caught between his Russian past and French present. His contemporary projects for dealer Ambroise Vollard reflect this "identity crisis"--his first illustrations in 1925 were for countryman Nikolai Gogol's novel Dead Souls, his next, in 1926, for Frenchman Jean de La Fontaine's classic 17th century Fables. The latter commission, however, was not without controversy. Nativist critics objected to the "Russian" painter interpreting the beloved French text and compelled Vollard to defend the choice in an article in L'Intransigeant: "'Why Chagall?' my answer is, 'Simply because his aesthetic seems to me in a certain sense akin to La Fontaine's, at once sound and delicate, realistic and fantastic'" (quoted in F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, Life and Work, 1963, New York, p. 348). Buoyed by Vollard's unwavering support and his success of the mid-1920s, Chagall boldly undertook the series.
The present work was among these lively, vibrant illustrations: "the burst into colour for Fables after the black and white of Dead Souls was expressive of the joy, exploration of nature, and stability in his life" (J. Wullschlager, Chagall, A Biography, New York, 2008, p. 327). Despite Vollard's efforts, the series--for which Chagall ultimately produced one hundred gouaches--was never published in its intended form. An edition of engravings after the colorful originals was released in 1952, but the gouache Fables remained largely unseen until the 1995 anniversary exhibition--the three hundredth year from La Fontaine's death and the tenth from Chagall's--at Céret.
The present fable concerns the inheritance of three daughters of diverse habits: one was beautiful and lascivious, the second, frugal and partial to the country, and the third, unattractive and given to drink. Their father's will specified that they split his estate equally, on two conditions: that they not possess or enjoy what they would be given, and that they settle the substantial sum of 100,000 sesterces on their mother. Unsure how to fulfill this curious request, their mother gave the finery and jewels to the first daughter, an estate in the country to the second, and an elegant house with casks of vintage wine to the third. Before she was able to, however, Aesop emerged and solved the father's riddle: assign the portions contrary to taste and each will sell off and have the funds to bestow the specified sum on their mother. In his illustration, Chagall accentuates their differences, the bibulous, frivolous and austere daughters pictured from left to right.
In December 1924, shortly before leaving for New York, the young Pierre Matisse arranged for Marc Chagall's first solo exhibition in France at the Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert. In 1927, the notable art critic Maurice Raynal included Chagall in his laudatory monograph, Modern French Painters. Despite this favor and recognition from his adopted country, Chagall still found himself caught between his Russian past and French present. His contemporary projects for dealer Ambroise Vollard reflect this "identity crisis"--his first illustrations in 1925 were for countryman Nikolai Gogol's novel Dead Souls, his next, in 1926, for Frenchman Jean de La Fontaine's classic 17th century Fables. The latter commission, however, was not without controversy. Nativist critics objected to the "Russian" painter interpreting the beloved French text and compelled Vollard to defend the choice in an article in L'Intransigeant: "'Why Chagall?' my answer is, 'Simply because his aesthetic seems to me in a certain sense akin to La Fontaine's, at once sound and delicate, realistic and fantastic'" (quoted in F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, Life and Work, 1963, New York, p. 348). Buoyed by Vollard's unwavering support and his success of the mid-1920s, Chagall boldly undertook the series.
The present work was among these lively, vibrant illustrations: "the burst into colour for Fables after the black and white of Dead Souls was expressive of the joy, exploration of nature, and stability in his life" (J. Wullschlager, Chagall, A Biography, New York, 2008, p. 327). Despite Vollard's efforts, the series--for which Chagall ultimately produced one hundred gouaches--was never published in its intended form. An edition of engravings after the colorful originals was released in 1952, but the gouache Fables remained largely unseen until the 1995 anniversary exhibition--the three hundredth year from La Fontaine's death and the tenth from Chagall's--at Céret.
The present fable concerns the inheritance of three daughters of diverse habits: one was beautiful and lascivious, the second, frugal and partial to the country, and the third, unattractive and given to drink. Their father's will specified that they split his estate equally, on two conditions: that they not possess or enjoy what they would be given, and that they settle the substantial sum of 100,000 sesterces on their mother. Unsure how to fulfill this curious request, their mother gave the finery and jewels to the first daughter, an estate in the country to the second, and an elegant house with casks of vintage wine to the third. Before she was able to, however, Aesop emerged and solved the father's riddle: assign the portions contrary to taste and each will sell off and have the funds to bestow the specified sum on their mother. In his illustration, Chagall accentuates their differences, the bibulous, frivolous and austere daughters pictured from left to right.