- 382
Marc Chagall
Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Marc Chagall
- Le Nu
- Signed Marc Chagall and dated 1954 (lower left)
- Watercolor, brush and ink and ink wash on paper
- 25 by 19 5/8 in.
- 63.6 by 49.8 cm
Provenance
Galerie Maeght, Paris
Private Collection, United States
Carol Saper Fine Art, Ltd., New York
Acquired from the above in 1987
Private Collection, United States
Carol Saper Fine Art, Ltd., New York
Acquired from the above in 1987
Condition
Executed on white wove paper with an Arches watermark, not laid down. The sheet is hinged to the mat at two points on the verso of the upper corners. There is a slight waviness to the upper edge of the sheet and an artist's pinhole in each of the corners. There is a small flattened crease across the lower left corner and a thin nick to the verso of the same corner. This work is in very good condition.
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
Chagall returned to certain themes that held potent artistic stimulation for him throughout his career. These themes stemmed from real life—his life—but he was never confined to recreating natural life on paper. Rather, it was his masterful ability to evoke an atmosphere that renders his works so eternally captivating. In the case of the present work, the central impression is an evocative, enduring and intimate depiction of a nude woman caught in the magical nocturnal spotlight of the observant moon.
The theme of intimacy deriving from romance is a particularly important theme to Chagall, who often revisited his own loving relationship with Bella, his childhood sweetheart. In the works that he created in her later absence, he infused his images with hints of both romance and caring nostalgia. During the time that he made Le Nu, he was coming to the end of another relationship, that with Virginia McNeil, his partner of several years and the mother of his son. It was perhaps the uncertainty and tension of this period that resulted in the color employed here and the use of bold, heavy outlines which lend this work such an aura of drama.
The theme of intimacy deriving from romance is a particularly important theme to Chagall, who often revisited his own loving relationship with Bella, his childhood sweetheart. In the works that he created in her later absence, he infused his images with hints of both romance and caring nostalgia. During the time that he made Le Nu, he was coming to the end of another relationship, that with Virginia McNeil, his partner of several years and the mother of his son. It was perhaps the uncertainty and tension of this period that resulted in the color employed here and the use of bold, heavy outlines which lend this work such an aura of drama.