Marc Chagall

Morton-Hamill, New York

Private Collection (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, Paris, June 1, 2011, lot 18)

Acquired at the above sale

Executed on buff colored wove paper laid down on Japanese wachi paper. As seen in the catalogue, minor craqulure on the areas where white is heavily applied. Pin dot loss below the structure on the lower right. This work is in very good condition overall.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Chagall's dramatic composition La Fuite dates from 1911, when Cubism was the defining aesthetic of the Parisian avant-garde.   As one of the few Russian-Jewish artists in Paris during this period, Chagall's approached his work with a bold combination of folklorking narrative and formal daring that rivalled the compositions of his French contemporaries.   His subject in this picture, for example, is a modern derivation of the Biblical story of the Exodus, rendered here a woman fleeing a deconstructed village beneath a sky lit with Stars of David.

"No other artist in the Parisian avant-garde of the early twentieth century explicitly depicted scenes from the Torah or Geneisis vis-a-vis the cubist formal principles of fragmentation and deconstruction," Jean-Michel Foray wrote.  "To put it another way, at the precise moment when the avant-garde was moving away from figuration, narrative compositions, and genre painting in favor of formalism and abstraction, Chagall reintroduced traditional themes and religious subject matter.  This decision, though defining for Chagall, represented the beginning of a deep rift between the artist and the avant-garde" (J.-M. Foray, Marc Chagall (exhibition catalogue), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2003, p. 64).