Marc Chagall

Estate of the artist
MK Fine Art, New York
Russeck Gallery, Palm Beach
Private Collection, California
Private Collection, San Francisco (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 3, 2012, lot 321)
Acquired at the above sale

The work is in excellent condition. Executed on cream wove paper backed with paper. Backing paper is attached to a mat at all four corners and the center of the edges of the sheet on the verso. The sheet undulates lightly under the medium. All edges are lightly deckled.
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.

Rencontre beams with the exuberance and pure joy that Chagall spent a lifetime mastering how to convey in a single image. The mood is achieved through fiery, energetic colors and the inclusion of some of Chagall's favorite themes in a mirage like vision of animals, artists, flowers and lovers, dancing across the backdrop of a distant village. The work is at once nostalgic and tender, as well as boldly modern, even by the standards of 1980. Chagall wields color as deftly and audaciously as Matisse and Bonnard had before him, using various tonal passages to convey meaning. The blue coloration in the background imparts a sense of mysticism and is a sharp juxtaposition to the intense reds and yellows which frame the picture.

These colors closely mirror Chagall's emotional connection to his subject; dreams and memories held dear, the most salient images having been burned into his memory as fiercely as his current palette suggests. The artist's connection to the composition is further underscored by the inclusion of a double self-portrait, showing Chagall's avatar, the artist at his easel, documenting a pair of lovers in which the male quite clearly resembles a young Marc Chagall. While Chagall cannot avoid inserting his personal experience into his art, the image retains a genuinely universal quality. As Susan Compton writes: "When he was younger, Chagall disliked being told that his art was literary or even poetic, because he wanted to suppress narration in his work in favor of the means of expression... throughout his paintings Chagall introduces human beings, who may be arranged in an illogical manner, but who are constant reminders that art is above all a celebration of the humanity of mankind" (quoted in Chagall (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1985, p. 242).