Marc Chagall

Buccholz Gallery (Curt Valentin), New York
Private Collection
The Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs (sold: Christie's, New York, 5th November 1981, lot 343)
Artcurial, Paris
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 26th March 1985, lot 16
Sale: Christie's, London, 21st June 1993, lot 23
Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1994

Minneapolis, Art Institute of Minneapolis (on loan)
Paris, Artcurial, L'Aventure surréaliste autour d'André Breton, 1986, no. 59, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Aquarelle, Gouachen, Zeichnungen, 1988, no. 18, illustrated in colour in the catalogue (as dating from circa 1917)

Executed on a thick sheet of buff-coloured wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount on the reverse of the top two corners, floating in the mount. There are artist's pinholes in all four corners. There are a few very fine vertical hairline creases with associated tiny pigment losses, and a small pigment loss on the woman's arm. Apart from a 1cm. repaired tear at the centre of the lower edge, a small crease above it, and some very minor scattered scuffs and losses, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly brighter and more luminous 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."

Au-dessus de la ville is a stunningly romantic composition, dating from the pivotal period in Chagall's œuvre. Between 1910 and 1914, Chagall lived in Paris, where he met Guillaume Apollinaire and artists including Robert Delaunay and Fernand Léger, and his art came under the influence of the avant-garde movements practiced in Paris at the time. While these influences, particularly that of Cubism, are evident in the present work, Chagall never embraced abstraction, and instead found a way of incorporating them into his own, highly romantic vision. In 1914 Chagall went beck to Russia intending a brief stay, however the outbreak of World War One prevented him from leaving the country for many years. It was during this time that Chagall executed some of his most romantic compositions.

 

The present work, and a closely related oil of the same subject (fig. 1), now in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, depict a couple flying over the artist's native village of Vitebsk. The two figures represent the artist and his muse Bella Rosenfeld, who was also from Vitebsk, and whom he married in 1915. Chagall and Bella (fig. 3) had met in 1909, and the artist greatly missed his muse during the years he lived in Paris. The joy of their reunion in 1914 is wonderfully glorified in Au-dessus de la ville. Lionello Venturi wrote about this image: 'if he paints himself and his Bella in the sky (Over the Town), then everything takes on the bright colors of spring; this picture is a transport of joy, just tinged with anxiety. The movement of the two figures in the air has a fine rhythm [...]. Chagall's conception of movement is highly personal' (L. Venturi, Marc Chagall, New York, 1945, p. 32).

Fig. 1, Marc Chagall, Au-dessus de la ville, 1914-18, oil on canvas, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Fig. 2, Marc Chagall, La Promenade, 1917-18, oil on canvas, The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Fig. 3, Marc Chagall and Bella Rosenfeld, 1910