- 370
Marc Chagall
Estimate
300,000 - 400,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Marc Chagall
- Le Bonheur du jeune couple aux fleurs
- Signed Marc Chagall (lower left)
- Gouache, brush and ink and black crayon on paper
- 20 by 13 in.
- 50.8 by 33 cm
Provenance
Heinz Berggruen & Cie., Paris (acquired from the artist by October 1968)
Hokin Gallery, Inc., Chicago (acquired from the above by 1976)
Private Collection, California (acquired from the above in 1976)
Gustfield-Glimer Galleries, Ltd., Northbrook, Illinois
Acquired from the above
Hokin Gallery, Inc., Chicago (acquired from the above by 1976)
Private Collection, California (acquired from the above in 1976)
Gustfield-Glimer Galleries, Ltd., Northbrook, Illinois
Acquired from the above
Condition
Work is in overall good condition. The pigments remain fresh and vibrant. Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down. Sheet is fixed to mount at several points along the perimeter of the verso. The upper, lower and right edges are slightly deckled. There is some shrinkage with associated small spots of paint-loss in the pink pigment of the flowers and the female figure's hair and the bright green pigment just above center.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Sans titre (Jeune couple aux fleurs) stems from a time when the artist was feeling happily nostalgic for his past while enjoying the joyful and tranquil life he had made for himself in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. The work presents a confident, swirling, dream-like composition which serves as an exquisite example of the artist’s creative maturity and contentment.
The work depicts a couple against a night sky seemingly merging into one as a fantastical signifier of their strong emotional connection. They are floating in mid-air with the familiar rooftops of the artist’s birthplace Vitebsk visible far below them. An oversized bouquet of flowers dominates the picture. The association of love and flowers was a constant theme in Chagall’s oeuvre and can be traced throughout his earliest work. The present composition enjoys some of the artist’s most emblematic motifs and illustrates his passion for color and light.
The work depicts a couple against a night sky seemingly merging into one as a fantastical signifier of their strong emotional connection. They are floating in mid-air with the familiar rooftops of the artist’s birthplace Vitebsk visible far below them. An oversized bouquet of flowers dominates the picture. The association of love and flowers was a constant theme in Chagall’s oeuvre and can be traced throughout his earliest work. The present composition enjoys some of the artist’s most emblematic motifs and illustrates his passion for color and light.
The photographer Alexander Liberman beautifully captures the spirit of Chagall’s paintings: "The lovers in Chagall paintings, closely, magnetically, protectively tied to each other, create a new entity and live oblivious to the surrounding hostile to the tumult of the outside world. This privacy demands its own landscape, and in his paintings bouquets are the couches and bowers for his lovers” (Alexander Liberman, The Artist in His Studio, New York, 1988, p. 167).