- 193
Marc Chagall
Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 GBP
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Description
- Marc Chagall
- VUE DE VITEBSK
indistinctly inscribed in Russian (lower right)
- gouache and coloured crayon on paper
- 38.2 by 29cm., 15 by 11 3/8 in.
Provenance
Vladimir Pozner, St Petersburg (a gift from the artist circa 1910)
Private Collection, France (by descent from the above; sale: Sotheby's, London, 20th June 2006, lot 133)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Private Collection, France (by descent from the above; sale: Sotheby's, London, 20th June 2006, lot 133)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Paris, Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Marc Chagall: Œuvres sur papier, 1984, no. 3
Rome, Musei Capitolini, Marc Chagall: Disegni, gouaches, dipinti, 1907-1983, 1984-85, no. 3
Zurich, Kunsthaus & Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Marc Chagall, Retrospektive, Arbeiten auf Papier, 1985, no. 3
Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Marc Chagall: Works on Paper, 1985, no. 3
Rome, Musei Capitolini, Marc Chagall: Disegni, gouaches, dipinti, 1907-1983, 1984-85, no. 3
Zurich, Kunsthaus & Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Marc Chagall, Retrospektive, Arbeiten auf Papier, 1985, no. 3
Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, Marc Chagall: Works on Paper, 1985, no. 3
Literature
Alexander Kamenski, Chagall: Période Russe et Soviétique 1907-1922, Paris, 1988, illustrated p. 42
Condition
Executed on buff coloured wove paper, not laid down, attached to the mount along all four edges. The edges of the sheet are slightly uneven, with some minor nicks and tears. Apart from a number of minor imperfections visible on the sheet, this work is in very good condition.
Colours: Overall fairly accurate although the colours are slightly warmer and softer in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
'Why do I always paint Vitebsk? With these pictures I create my own reality for myself, I recreate my home'
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall was born into a close-knit Jewish family in the city of Vitebsk in Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. Executed during his early, formative years, Vue de Vitebsk aptly demonstrates the important place that Chagall's home town occupied in his art. Images of the city play a central role in his work throughout his career, from the early paintings until his last works in France in the 1980s.
Vue de Vitebsk is a very early work, an exceptionally rare example from this period, and demonstrates his experimental use of pencil and gouache, still remarkably fresh, while employing the colour and texture of the paper to give depth and harmony to the composition. As in all of Chagall's depictions of Vitebsk, the cathedral is ever-present, looming over the city with gleaming blue onion domes. Chagall takes a high vantage point of the city he loves, the "village" as he called it. In the foreground, we see the traditional wooden houses of the shtetl, where a mother watches over her young daughter.
After training with the local artist Yehuda Pen, Chagall moved to Saint Petersburg in 1907 with the intention of studying with the great masters of the Russian capital, joining the studio of Leon Bakst at the Zvyagintseva School a year later. Travel was restricted for Jews, and Chagall was in Saint Petersburg illegally. A local enlightened patron (a Jewish intellectual close to Vinaver, who eventually helped Chagall to go to Paris), soon came to the aid of the twenty year old artist. Chagall gave him the present work, in gratitude for the assistance he had afforded him.
Many years later Chagall recalled to his patron's son: 'When I arrived in Saint Petersburg, I didn't have the right to stay, I didn't have the right papers, and in order to gain the right of residence, you had to work somewhere and live where you worked. Your father worked at a magazine - the Voskhod, I think - he was editor, it was in Zakharievskaïa Street, and there I lived, in the offices, in the middle of piles of magazines. It was a rich neighbourhood, and that's where your father had me to stay... Your father was different, more refined, and commissioned a painting from me, a portrait of you and your brother, a paid commission, perhaps my first' (interview with Marc Chagall, Paris, 1969).
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall was born into a close-knit Jewish family in the city of Vitebsk in Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. Executed during his early, formative years, Vue de Vitebsk aptly demonstrates the important place that Chagall's home town occupied in his art. Images of the city play a central role in his work throughout his career, from the early paintings until his last works in France in the 1980s.
Vue de Vitebsk is a very early work, an exceptionally rare example from this period, and demonstrates his experimental use of pencil and gouache, still remarkably fresh, while employing the colour and texture of the paper to give depth and harmony to the composition. As in all of Chagall's depictions of Vitebsk, the cathedral is ever-present, looming over the city with gleaming blue onion domes. Chagall takes a high vantage point of the city he loves, the "village" as he called it. In the foreground, we see the traditional wooden houses of the shtetl, where a mother watches over her young daughter.
After training with the local artist Yehuda Pen, Chagall moved to Saint Petersburg in 1907 with the intention of studying with the great masters of the Russian capital, joining the studio of Leon Bakst at the Zvyagintseva School a year later. Travel was restricted for Jews, and Chagall was in Saint Petersburg illegally. A local enlightened patron (a Jewish intellectual close to Vinaver, who eventually helped Chagall to go to Paris), soon came to the aid of the twenty year old artist. Chagall gave him the present work, in gratitude for the assistance he had afforded him.
Many years later Chagall recalled to his patron's son: 'When I arrived in Saint Petersburg, I didn't have the right to stay, I didn't have the right papers, and in order to gain the right of residence, you had to work somewhere and live where you worked. Your father worked at a magazine - the Voskhod, I think - he was editor, it was in Zakharievskaïa Street, and there I lived, in the offices, in the middle of piles of magazines. It was a rich neighbourhood, and that's where your father had me to stay... Your father was different, more refined, and commissioned a painting from me, a portrait of you and your brother, a paid commission, perhaps my first' (interview with Marc Chagall, Paris, 1969).