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拍品专文
The Comité Marc Chagall has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Chagall’s earliest known self-portrait is dated 1907, when the artist was just twenty years old. By 1909, he had already adopted the pose of a painter in his self-portraits, frequently depicting himself with brush in hand. Chagall pursued this type of self-representation throughout his career, of which the present lot is a later example, dating from 1965. In many of Chagall’s works, the artist adopted the form of an animal, usually a donkey or rooster. However, in the present work, the artist appears as himself, filling the entire composition with trembling lines and dense color. Clutching a palette, we see his latest painting visible in the upper right corner of the composition: a beautiful, beaming bride set against a flame-red background. Though the bride is grounded in the canvas, she does not remain constrained within its edges. Instead, her delicate legs extend beyond the lower edge of the canvas and overlap the artist’s shoulder, merging to become one with him. This brings to mind Chagall’s eternal love for his lifelong muse, Bella. Chagall married Bella in 1915, after returning to Russia from his first stay in Paris. Bella quickly became the inspiration for Chagall’s lyrical paintings depicting lovers throughout his oeuvre. She continued to appear in Chagall's work even after her tragic death in 1944. In the present lot, Bella’s ethereal presence hovering on his shoulder seems to spark a fond memory for the artist as suggested by his winsome smile and head tilted in contemplation.
Chagall’s earliest known self-portrait is dated 1907, when the artist was just twenty years old. By 1909, he had already adopted the pose of a painter in his self-portraits, frequently depicting himself with brush in hand. Chagall pursued this type of self-representation throughout his career, of which the present lot is a later example, dating from 1965. In many of Chagall’s works, the artist adopted the form of an animal, usually a donkey or rooster. However, in the present work, the artist appears as himself, filling the entire composition with trembling lines and dense color. Clutching a palette, we see his latest painting visible in the upper right corner of the composition: a beautiful, beaming bride set against a flame-red background. Though the bride is grounded in the canvas, she does not remain constrained within its edges. Instead, her delicate legs extend beyond the lower edge of the canvas and overlap the artist’s shoulder, merging to become one with him. This brings to mind Chagall’s eternal love for his lifelong muse, Bella. Chagall married Bella in 1915, after returning to Russia from his first stay in Paris. Bella quickly became the inspiration for Chagall’s lyrical paintings depicting lovers throughout his oeuvre. She continued to appear in Chagall's work even after her tragic death in 1944. In the present lot, Bella’s ethereal presence hovering on his shoulder seems to spark a fond memory for the artist as suggested by his winsome smile and head tilted in contemplation.