Marc Chagall

Opera Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above in 2004

The canvas is not lined. The surface is clean, unvarnished and nicely textured. Under UV light: no inpainting is apparent.
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Chagall claimed that he had never known of flowers in Russia, and that they came to represent France for him. A personal motif of his French experience, Pot aux fleurs, roses is a charming visual representation of the gratitude Chagall felt for his adopted home rendered in his trademark palette of rich green, light pinks and bright yellows.

Chagall resided in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in the South of France from 1960 until his death in 1985, and he sought to capture the town's easy charm and luminosity. According to Chagall's biographer Franz Meyer, "The light, the vegetation, the rhythm of life all contributed to the rise of a more relaxed, airy, sensuous style in which the magic of color dominates more and more with the passing years. At Vence he witnessed the daily miracle of growth and blossoming in the mild, strong all-pervading light—an experience in which earth and matter had their place" (Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall, London, 1964, p. 519). Pot aux fleurs, roses hails from the end of the artist's life which was simulatenously intensely nostalgic and celebratory for its sense of peace and joy. Flanking the flowers is a pair of lovers who seem to revel in the beauty provided by the boquet above them. This is perhaps representative of Chagall's never ceasing mourning for his beloved wife Bella, with whom he most certainly wished he had spent these happy and bright years.