Returning to Paris in 1923 after nearly a decade’s stay in his Russian home town, Marc Chagall experienced a period of unmatched happiness. Accompanied by his wife, Bella, and small child, the artist visited the Seine valley and the South of France, discovering the lush landscapes whose distinctive colours and forms inspired his work. Depicting Chagall and Bella floating tenderly, peacefully and inseparably in the night sky, Les Amoureux is the pictorial embodiment of the couple’s contentment in this new stage of their life. Some 40 years later, the painter still held to this opinion, writing, “Is it not true that painting and colour are inspired by love? In art, as in life, all is possible when conceived in love.” A remarkable large-scale canvas from one of the most desirable periods in the artist’s vast œuvre, Les Amoureux has remained in the same family’s distinguished collection since 1928, the year it was painted.
Impressionist & Modern Art Evening
14 November | New York