Marc Chagall

Galerie Jean Tiroche, Palm Beach 
Private Collection (acquired from the above in June 1972)
Private Collection (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's, London, June 23, 2004, lot 228)
Weinstein Gallery, San Francisco (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above

Oil on canvas laid on panel. The surface is richly textured and the impasto has been well preserved. Very fine lines of craquelure are visible in a few places including around and in the vase at lower center and within the black pigment toward upper left and dark blue pigments toward upper right. Minor frame abrasion is apparent to the extreme outer edges of the canvas. Under UV light: no inpainting is apparent but a layer of varnish is difficult to read through. The work is in overall 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.

Painted circa 1927-28, the present work represents a major turning point in Chagall’s art of this period. Following the artist’s arrival in Paris there was a marked change in his work, reflecting new priorities. France was now home, and the artist used every opportunity to embrace French culture. “The soil which had nourished the roots of my art was Vitebsk,” he remembered later, “but my art needed Paris—like a tree needs water—otherwise it would have withered.” It was also a period of newly achieved financial security, for in 1926 he signed a contract with Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, who were among the most prestigious dealers in France and represented such established top-tier painters as Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. As Susan Tumarkin Goodman and Kenneth E. Silver note, it was at this time that bouquets, in particular, "became a common theme in his work. Chagall saw them as quintessentially French, claiming that he had not known of them in Russia. His wife, Bella, brought home lavish bouquets from the markets, which Chagall transformed into lyrical expressions of joy. These are not traditional still lifes; rather, the bunches of blooms, enlarged out of all proportion, capture the spirit of nature, or perhaps the spirit of France and of Bella" (Susan Tumarkin Goodman & Kenneth E. Silver, Chagall: Love, War and Exile (exhibition catalogue), The Jewish Museum, New York, 2013-14, p. 25).

Inspired by this new life in Paris, Bella au bouquet, with its dazzling bouquet of flowers at center and Bella’s likeness in red against the deep blue background, is a great testament of the artist’s love for his first wife Bella. The powerful association between the two has a long tradition in the artist’s oeuvre and began as early as 1915, when he painted Bella holding a bouquet of flowers in L'Anniversaire, now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.