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Lot Essay
'If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing' (Chagall, quoted in J. Baal-Teshuva, ed., Chagall: A Retrospective, Westport, 1995, p. 16).
Painted during one of the most prolific creative periods of Marc Chagall's career, Bouquet au coq jaune showcases the artist's unique ability to transform even the most everyday of subjects into a magical, otherworldly scene. Focusing on a traditional still-life motif, the artist lends the scene a unique, Chagallian air in which a large bouquet of freshly cut flowers set within the deep blue midnight sky, hovers over two embracing lovers, with the moon and cockerel effortlessly appearing as one within the composition. Executed on an intimate scale, Bouquet au coq jaune captures a number of the most key leitmotifs within the artist's oeuvre in a richly worked composition that fills every corner of the canvas.
The presence of the embracing couple under the canopy of blooming flowers lends the painting a distinctively romantic air, perhaps alluding to the happiness, love and contentment that Chagall felt at this time, as he enjoyed an idyllic life in the South of France with his second wife, Vava. Indeed the Côte d'Azur had a profound impact on the artist, and the manner in which the tranquil atmosphere and beautiful landscapes came to influence his painting. He had first moved to the area in the early 1950s, settling in the historic walled town of Vence, of which the rooftops emerging in the lower left of this composition most likely refer to. Chagall described this new life here as 'a bouquet of roses' (Chagall, quoted in S. Alexander, Marc Chagall: A Biography, New York, 1978, p. 492).
Painted during one of the most prolific creative periods of Marc Chagall's career, Bouquet au coq jaune showcases the artist's unique ability to transform even the most everyday of subjects into a magical, otherworldly scene. Focusing on a traditional still-life motif, the artist lends the scene a unique, Chagallian air in which a large bouquet of freshly cut flowers set within the deep blue midnight sky, hovers over two embracing lovers, with the moon and cockerel effortlessly appearing as one within the composition. Executed on an intimate scale, Bouquet au coq jaune captures a number of the most key leitmotifs within the artist's oeuvre in a richly worked composition that fills every corner of the canvas.
The presence of the embracing couple under the canopy of blooming flowers lends the painting a distinctively romantic air, perhaps alluding to the happiness, love and contentment that Chagall felt at this time, as he enjoyed an idyllic life in the South of France with his second wife, Vava. Indeed the Côte d'Azur had a profound impact on the artist, and the manner in which the tranquil atmosphere and beautiful landscapes came to influence his painting. He had first moved to the area in the early 1950s, settling in the historic walled town of Vence, of which the rooftops emerging in the lower left of this composition most likely refer to. Chagall described this new life here as 'a bouquet of roses' (Chagall, quoted in S. Alexander, Marc Chagall: A Biography, New York, 1978, p. 492).