Lot 461
  • 461

MARC CHAGALL | La Leçon de violon

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Marc Chagall
  • La Leçon de violon
  • Stamped Marc Chagall (lower center); signed Chagall (on the reverse)
  • Oil on canvasboard
  • 13 1/8  by 8 1/8 in.
  • 33.3 by 20.6 cm
  • Painted circa 1978.

Provenance

Pacific Heights Gallery, San Francisco (acquired by 1997)
Acquired from the above

Condition

This work is in excellent condition. The canvasboard is sound. The surface is clean and richly textured. Under Uv, some original pigments fluoresce, however no inpainting is apparent.
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

The present work highlight's Chagall's characteristic combination of motifs along with his adept skill as a colorist. Depicting a violin lesson in progress with clearly romantic undertones, Chagall beckons memories of his past. A reminder of his childhood in Vitebsk, where the music of the violin accompanied the basic events of life—birth, marriage and death—the violinist carries an almost totemic power in Chagall’s work and remained central to his oeuvre throughout his lifetime (see fig. 1). In the present work, the figures are surrounded by Chagall's beloved farm animals and are juxtaposed against two multi-textured bouquets of flowers that fill the center of the composition. Such bouquets captivated Chagall beginning in the late 1920s and continued to, as evidenced in the present work, throughout his career. 

Writing about the subject of flowers in Chagall’s work, Franz Meyer comments, "Many are simple still lifes with a bunch of red roses and white lilacs; in others, pairs of lovers and air-borne fiddlers gambol through space. The atmosphere encompasses and pervades the flowers like a magically light airy fluid, vibrant with their vitality" (Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall, New York, 1963, p. 369). La Leçon de violin is a quintessential example of how Chagall allowed his imagination and his multicultural experience to govern the paintbrush, presenting the viewer with various whimsical and autobiographical motifs with roots spanning his entire career. 



The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by the Comité Chagall.