Chagall Catalogue Visions and Colours

Transcription

Chagall Catalogue Visions and Colours
MARC CHAGALL:
VISIONS
and
COLOURS
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MARC CHAGALL:
VISIONS
and
COLOURS
August 20th - October 30th 2015
MARC CHAGALL: VISIONS and COLOURS
August 20th - October 30th 2015
Gilden’s Arts Gallery presents a new exhibition of works by Marc Chagall to add a twist of
vivacious colours to your summer. The exhibition covers the artist’s oeuvre from his early
etchings until the most mature post war lithographs.
Marc Chagall's poetic, figurative style made him one of the most popular modern artists,
while his long life and varied output made him one of the most internationally recognised.
Chagall's distinction lies in his steady faith in the power of figurative art, which he maintained
despite absorbing ideas from Fauvism and Cubism.
Born in the Russian town of Vitebsk to a very traditional Jewish family, Chagall’s poetic
works recall a sort of childish fantasy and the magical background of Russian story tales.
Renowned for their magnificent coloration and fantastic imagery, the many series of Marc
Chagall range across themes and sentiment. From his narrative renderings of Daphnis and
Chloe and The Arabian Nights, to his visions of the Old Testament, a delightful interpretation
full of symbols and colours. The world he depicts is full of happiness and optimism, a world
in colours as if seen throughout the outstanding stained glass windows he realised in Jerusalem.
Considered to be one of the most influential and colourful artists of the twentieth century,
Marc Chagall’s work has become instantly recognisable and praised worldwide, thus
cementing him as a modern master of art. He managed to combine his Russian roots and
the Parisian avant-garde, with its Fauvist, Cubist, Expressionist styles, to create a visual
language of his own.
We look forward to greeting you in our Hampstead gallery to enjoy “Marc Chagall: Visions
and Colours”.
Daniela, Veronica, Costanza and Ofer.
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EARLY ETCHINGS
Marc Chagall’s interest in etching began when he was thirty-five years old while still living
in Berlin before moving to Paris. He was passionate about learning all the technical aspects
of using the burin and drypoint in this newly discovered art form.
The work on the next page is a very early etching and aquatint, a marvellous example
of the young Chagall’s interest in the study of tones. According to the Chagall catalogue
Raisonne of engravings written by Eberhard Kornfeld, there are only four known proofs
printed of the first state before Chagall re-worked the plate and before the final edition.
Of these four proofs only one is in black and white while the other three proofs are
hand coloured. This impression is an extremely rare additional proof of this state and
the only other black and white proof is now in the collection of the Chagall Archives in
Saint-Paul-de-Vence. The regular and final edition was issued in 1925. It was printed in a
limited edition of 100 signed and numbered impressions with a few artist proofs aside.
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Appearance of the Angel I, 1924/1925
Original Hand Signed and Inscribed Etching with Aquatint on older Arches paper
53 x 37.5 cm / 20.8 x 14.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Villager and the Snake, 1927/1952
Original Hand-Coloured Etching on Montval paper
36 x 29 cm / 14.2 x 11.4 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Lion and the Midge, 1952
Original Hand-Coloured Etching on Montval paper
36 x 29 cm / 14.2 x 11.4 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Woodcutter and Mercury, 1927/1952
Original Hand-Coloured Etching on Montval paper
36 x 29 cm / 14.2 x 11.4 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Little Fish and the Fisherman, 1927/1952
Original Hand-Coloured Etching on Montval paper
36 x 29 cm / 14.2 x 11.4 in
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The BIBLE
Marc Chagall carefully selected biblical themes for his two illustrated Bible books. His
meticulous approach conveys how intensively he must have contemplated the existence
of humanity and the human belief in God. By the end of the first passage of his artistic
voyage through the Old Testament (in 1956 with his series “La Bible”), he had impressively
produced 135 original works of graphic art (105 etchings and 30 lithographs).
With his second series (“Dessins pour La Bible / Illustrations for the Bible” of 1960), he
added another 48 lithographs, which dealt mostly with the story of creation and women in
the Old Testament. In doing so, Chagall’s biblically themed works became the most important
element of his original graphic art.
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Moses, 1956
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Arches vellum paper
37.6 x 26.3 cm / 14.8 x 10.3 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Sara and Abimelech, 1960
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Arches vellum paper
52.3 x 38 cm / 20.6 x 15 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Bath-Sheba at the Feet of David, 1956
Original Hand-Coloured Etching with Watercolour on Arches vellum paper
45.2 x 39 cm / 18.8 x 15.35 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Descent Toward Sodom, 1956
Original Hand-Coloured Etching with Watercolour on Arches vellum paper
53.5 x 39 cm / 20.9 x 15.35 in
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Marc Chagall designed the sets and costumes for Leonide Massine’s production of “Aleko”
with the American Ballet Theatre. The story of Aleko was written by Alexander Pushkin
and the music was composed by Tchaikovsky. It premiered in Mexico City on the 8th of
September 1942.
As the romantic he was, Chagall took great pleasure in designing sets and costumes for
theatre productions: “I adore the theatre and I am a painter. I think the two are made
for a marriage of love. I will give all my soul to proof this once more”.
MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Aleko, 1956
Hand Signed and Numbered Etching and Aquatint in Colours on Rives BFK vellum paper
55.5 x 71.5 cm / 21.6 x 28.1 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
Landscape with Isbas, 1957
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
47.5 x 63.3 cm / 18.7 x 25 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
The Saint-Louis Island in Paris, 1959
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
56 x 76 cm \ 22 x 29.9 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Monsters of the Notre-Dame, 1954
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on vellum paper
37 x 28 cm / 14.6 x 11 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Rooster and the Clock, circa 1956
Hand Signed and Numbered Etching with Aquatint in Colours on BFK Rives paper
55.2 x 38 cm / 21.7 x 14.9 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Joy of Living, 1967
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Arches vellum paper
74.5 x 53.5 cm / 29.3 x 21.2 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Branch with Flute Player, 1957
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph on Canson gray paper
65.3 x 50 cm / 25.7 x 19.6 in
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MONOTYPES
Marc Chagall began to produce monotypes only when Gerald Cramer, his Swiss publisher
at the time, suggested it to him in 1961. From that point, Chagall worked with Cramer and
the printer Jacques Frelaut to execute an outstanding group of 306 monotypes including
our work “The Red Boot”.
An exhibition of examples from that body of works was presented at the MOMA (Museum
of Modern Art) in New York between November 1979 and January 1980. Riva Castlemain,
Director of the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books at the MOMA, interestingly
noted at the time that “This exhibition is about the creative interaction of three devoted
people”. This work, The Red Boot, has many typical aspects of iconography of this artist
such as the couple, the Bouquet and the child.
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Red Boot, 1965
Original Hand Signed Oil Monotype on Japan nacré paper
56.5 x 44 cm / 22.2 x 17.3 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Blue Sky, 1964
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on vellum paper
77 x 57 cm / 30.3 x 22.4 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Wolf Trap from Daphnis and Chloe, 1961
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Arches vellum paper
54.1 x 38 cm / 21.3 x 15 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
Tribe of Dan, 1964
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
74.9 x 53.3 cm \ 29.5 x 21 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Fight of Jacob and the Angel, 1967
Hand Signed, Dedicated and Inscribed Lithograph on Arches vellum paper
76 x 56 cm / 29.9 x 22 in
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MEDITERRANEAN COLOURS
The warm climate and vivid colours of Nice and the Côte d’Azur captured the heart and
imagination of Marc Chagall, who loved the beauty of the Mediterranean.
Printed by Charles Sorlier and published by Mourlot in Paris in 1967, Chagall’s Nice and
the Cote d’Azur series is comprised of 12 lithographs in colours created to accompany the
text written by Jean Adhemar, Director of the Cabinet des Estampes at the Bibliotheque
Nationale. Jean Adhemar states that in these works “one rediscovers the characters dear
to Chagall: those lovers in the firmament, the woman with the flowers and the Sirene, the most
poignant symbol of Nice. There are also those visions, the memory of which pursued him
from childhood and from his days in Vitebsk. All this explains the richness of tones in these
lithographs, the beauty and harmony of the colours.” Indeed, these lithographs remain
some of the most stunning examples of colour and imagery of Chagall’s entire artistic
oeuvre.
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
Siren and Fish (from Nice and the Cote d’Azur), 1967
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
73.3 x 52.6 cm \ 28.8 x 20.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
Bay of Angels with Bouquet of Roses (from Nice and the Cote d’Azur), 1967
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
73.3 x 52.6 cm \ 28.8 x 20.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
Couple with Fish (from Nice and the Cote d’Azur), 1967
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
73.3 x 52.6 cm \ 28.8 x 20.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Woman with Bouquet, 1964
Hand Signed and Numbere Lithograph in colours on Arches vellum paper
74.4 x 52.8 cm / 29.2 x 20.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
The Sunlit Studio, 1974
Original Hand Signed and Inscribed Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
65 x 49.3 cm / 25.6 x 19.4 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
Bouquet with Bird, 1960
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
49.7 x 35 cm \ 19.6 x 13.8 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Motherhood, 1954
Hand Signed and Hand Numbered Lithograph on Arches paper
Size: 59 x 79 cm / 23.22 x 31.1 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Rainbow, 1969
Original Hand Signed and Inscribed Lithograph in colours on Arches paper
92 x 72 cm / 36.2 x 28.3 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Blue Studio, 1973
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Japon paper
62.5 x 55 cm / 24.6 x 21.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Magic Flute III, 1972
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches vellum paper
58.2 x 44 cm / 22.9 x 17.3 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Magic Flute II, 1972
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches vellum paper
59 x 44 cm / 23.2 x 17.3 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Anemones, 1974
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithographin colours on Japon paper
53.7 x 40.8 cm / 21.2 x 16.1 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887 - 1985
The Song of Songs, 1975
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches paper
71 x 53.5 cm / 28 x 21.1 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Grenade from Paroles Peintes, 1962
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Etching with Aquatint on Richard de Bas paper
38 x 28.3 cm / 14.9 x 11.1 in
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The CIRCUS
The circus inspired Marc Chagall throughout his life. As a child in Russia, he had been fascinated by the travelling acrobats he saw at village fairs. After he moved to Paris, Ambroise
Vollard regularly accompanied him to the circus, where he would sit in the audience and
sketch. Circus performers, with their costumes and garish make-up, were ideal characters
to populate Chagall’s dream-like compositions.
He later said: “For me a circus is a magic show that appears and disappears like a world”.
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
On the Track, 1965
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Arches paper
65.2 x 40 cm / 25.6 x 17.7 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
My Pierrot, 1969
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph on Arches vellum paper
75.5 x 53.5 cm / 29.7 x 21.1 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
The Little Arlequins, 1962
Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph on Arches paper
35.5 x 47cm / 14 x 18.5 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Green Acrobat, 1979
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in colours on Arches vellum paper
49 x 37 cm / 19.3 x 14.6 in
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MARC CHAGALL 1887-1985
Circus Parade, 1980
Original Hand Signed and Numbered Lithograph in Colours on Arches vellum paper
61.8 x 47.7 cm / 24.3 x 18.8 in
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Ofer Gildor – Gallery Director
Daniela Boi and Veronica Czeisler – Catalogue Text and Concept
Costanza Sciascia – Gallery Assistant
Design – Karolina Urbaniak
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