Lot 464
  • 464

MARC CHAGALL | Le Peintre dans son village

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
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Description

  • Marc Chagall
  • Le Peintre dans son village
  • Signed Marc Chagall and dated 1982 (lower right)
  • Brush and ink, ink wash, colored pencil and pencil on paper
  • 30 1/8 by 22 1/4 in.
  • 76.5 by 56.5 cm
  • Executed in 1982.

Provenance

Sale: Christie's, New York, November 15, 1988, lot 205 
Lars L. Laestadius, Zug, Switzerland
Sale: Bukowskis, Stockholm, April 19, 2016, lot 181
Acquired at the above sale

Condition

This work is in excellent condition. Executed on white wove paper, which is hinged at several places at all four corners to a mount. All four edges are slightly deckled. The medium is fresh and well-preserved.
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

Executed shortly before Chagall's death in 1983, Le Peintre dans son village is a highly introspective work in which a parade of the most recognizable motifs from the artist's career are juxtaposed, as if stepping onto the stage for one final bow before the curtains descend at the end of a long, scintillating performance. Horses, figures, lovers, acrobats and other characters that feature prominently in Chagall's oeuvre all appear to float and dance above a village, undoubtedly a reference to Vitebsk, the Eastern European town in which Chagall was born and spent much of his childhood. At the center of this metaphorical stage is the artist himself, depicted in the foreground with his gaze fixed upon the viewer, his hands gesturing to the cast of characters behind him.

Self portraiture was a recurring theme throughout Chagall's career, and the artist's explorations of the subject rank among some of the most imaginative and varied in the history of twentieth-century art. Inevitably, however, it is self portraits completed toward the end of this career which offer an especially poignant perspective into the artist's mind and soul (see fig. 1).

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