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Lot Essay
The Comité Marc Chagall has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
The present work relates to a series of paintings executed between 1952 and 1956 and referred to by Franz Meyer as The Paris Series. These works present some of Chagall's most recognizable imagery against the backdrop of the most famous landmarks of Paris, such as L'Opéra, Notre-Dame and La Bastille. In the present work, we see the Gothic spire of La Sainte-Chapelle in the foreground, with a bird's eye view from Île de la Cité showing the Seine receding into the distance. Using the device of the open window, a feature he developed in 1913, Chagall creates a fluid boundary between the symbolic realms of the present and past, the real and imaginary. Franz Meyer reiterates, "The window is the boundary between indoors and out, the opening in the wall through which the eye escapes into the distance, but which one can also shut in order to turn one's gaze inwards. Chagall's preference for the window picture fits the particular situation of the artist who never gives 'the outside' a loose rein but relates 'inside' and 'outside' to each other as in a parable" (F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, London, 1964, p. 337).
This division between the real and unreal is highlighted by the inclusion of the cockerel, which is seen as a symbol of his Russian heritage. It is for the artist a sign of his deep attachment to his childhood, marked by religious folklore and the omnipresence of domestic beasts raised by his family. The coq, or rooster, occupies a position in Chagall's personal mythology similar to that of the Minotaur in Picasso's private symbolism. In both cases the artist has projected himself into non-human form, and in this process has transformed the designated creature into a personal avatar, which the artist is then free to use as a surrogate in his paintings, with Chagall often using it to stress humor and lyricism, or, as seen here, as a romantic partner to Bella.
Unlike other artists of the day Chagall was not afraid of sentimentality and saw that it was essential to his work, stating, "If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing" (quoted in J. Baal-Teshuva, ed., Chagall: A Retrospective, New York, 1995, p. 16). He defended this self-reflective way of working, declaring, "All our interior world is reality—and perhaps more so than our apparent world…To call everything that appears illogical, 'fantasy,' fairy tale, or chimera would be practically to admit not understanding nature" (quoted in B. Harshav, ed., Marc Chagall on Art and Culture, Palo Alto, 2003, pp. 81-82).
The present work relates to a series of paintings executed between 1952 and 1956 and referred to by Franz Meyer as The Paris Series. These works present some of Chagall's most recognizable imagery against the backdrop of the most famous landmarks of Paris, such as L'Opéra, Notre-Dame and La Bastille. In the present work, we see the Gothic spire of La Sainte-Chapelle in the foreground, with a bird's eye view from Île de la Cité showing the Seine receding into the distance. Using the device of the open window, a feature he developed in 1913, Chagall creates a fluid boundary between the symbolic realms of the present and past, the real and imaginary. Franz Meyer reiterates, "The window is the boundary between indoors and out, the opening in the wall through which the eye escapes into the distance, but which one can also shut in order to turn one's gaze inwards. Chagall's preference for the window picture fits the particular situation of the artist who never gives 'the outside' a loose rein but relates 'inside' and 'outside' to each other as in a parable" (F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, London, 1964, p. 337).
This division between the real and unreal is highlighted by the inclusion of the cockerel, which is seen as a symbol of his Russian heritage. It is for the artist a sign of his deep attachment to his childhood, marked by religious folklore and the omnipresence of domestic beasts raised by his family. The coq, or rooster, occupies a position in Chagall's personal mythology similar to that of the Minotaur in Picasso's private symbolism. In both cases the artist has projected himself into non-human form, and in this process has transformed the designated creature into a personal avatar, which the artist is then free to use as a surrogate in his paintings, with Chagall often using it to stress humor and lyricism, or, as seen here, as a romantic partner to Bella.
Unlike other artists of the day Chagall was not afraid of sentimentality and saw that it was essential to his work, stating, "If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing" (quoted in J. Baal-Teshuva, ed., Chagall: A Retrospective, New York, 1995, p. 16). He defended this self-reflective way of working, declaring, "All our interior world is reality—and perhaps more so than our apparent world…To call everything that appears illogical, 'fantasy,' fairy tale, or chimera would be practically to admit not understanding nature" (quoted in B. Harshav, ed., Marc Chagall on Art and Culture, Palo Alto, 2003, pp. 81-82).