Marc Chagall, Colour of Life: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate (Part 2)
Christie's Hong Kong Auction
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Public Preview: 26 – 30 November 2022
Standalone Day Sale: 1 December 2022
On 1 December, Christie’s will present ‘Marc Chagall, Colour of Life: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate (Part 2)’, a dedicated auction presenting a superb selection of 20 works by modernist master Marc Chagall, one of the most eminent European artists of the 20th century. Originating from the artist’s estate, the works have never been offered for sale before. This is the second in a series of global sales dedicated to Chagall, the first of which took place in London in June and was 100% sold, achieving 194% of the pre-sale low estimate.
Throughout his prolific artistic career, Marc Chagall was captivated by a number of themes and motifs which he depicted in multiple guises, constantly developing new and innovative techniques and approaches that enriched his iconic idiosyncratic style. This collection of 20 works encompasses key strands from Chagall’s oeuvre, including: the profound strength of love; the emotional and spiritual connection with his homeland; the joy and beauty of nature; the nurturing artistic richness of Paris; and, art as a means of exploring personal and collective identities.
Marc Chagall: Poetry of Love
‘In life, just as on the artist’s palette, there is but one single colour that gives meaning to life and art,’ Marc Chagall proclaimed, ‘– the colour of love’ (quoted in N. Lynton, ‘Chagall “over the Roofs of the World”,’ in S. Compton, ed., Chagall, exh. cat., Philadelphia, 1985, p. 21). From his youth through to his final golden years, love in all its multifaceted brilliance remained a principal driving force in Marc Chagall’s oeuvre, a constant and ever-evolving source of inspiration that underpinned his creativity and fed his most celebrated compositions. Masterfully subliming his personal experiences into universal values, the artist conjured rich, evocative visions that spoke to the many different sides of the emotion and its enduring power. While the subject of love continued to be central in Chagall’s art, its form shifted and changed in a manner that reflected the evolution of his own relationships, offering deep, profound statements on the nature of love and the authenticity of human values.
Marc Chagall: The Song of Vitebsk
‘Why do I always paint Vitebsk? With these pictures I create my own reality for myself, I recreate my home’ (quoted in S. Compton, Chagall: Love and the Stage 1914-1922, exh. cat., London, 1998, p. 16). Among the most enduring of Marc Chagall’s subjects was the play of life within the town of Vitebsk, where he was born and spent his youth. Often a symbol referring to the artist’s source of personal strength, it was here that the artist discovered his passion for art, referring to the town as ‘the soil that nourished the roots of my art’ (Chagall, quoted in J. Baal-Teshuva, Marc Chagall 1887-1985, Cologne, 1998, p. 19). In many of his compositions, the distinctive architecture of Vitebsk appears as the setting for an array of fantastical, semi-autobiographical scenes, while the rituals that governed life in the town became an important and recurring source of inspiration. In other works, the distinctive rooftops and orthodox churches of Vitebsk harmoniously coexist with the skyline of Paris or the hilltop of Vence within the same pictorial space.
Marc Chagall: The Joy of Nature
I want an art of the earth and not merely an art of the head,’ (Marc Chagall, quoted in F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, Life and Work, London, 1964, p. 337). Chagall had first introduced floral still-lifes in his painting in the 1908s. After returning with his family to Paris from his native Russia in 1923, the couple and their daughter frequently travelled around France, relishing the natural beauty of the land and fulfilling his need to understand the profound spirit of the French soil. From this time onwards, large, effusive bouquets of freshly-cut flowers and foliage, at the very height of their fleeting beauty took a greater prominence in Chagall’s work. The study of these grand bouquets served both as an exercise in modelling colour and light, and as a symbol of love and a profound respect for nature. In works such as Vava aux arums the lilies tower over Vava like a blossoming tree; giving the impression of being rooted in the landscape and thus creating an intentional confusion between the interior and exterior spaces – a duality, which like past and present, imaginary and real, up and down, is not restricted by the conventionality of the world which surrounds us but rather freed from logic and revitalised by imagination.
Marc Chagall: The Eternal Inspiration of Paris
‘I seemed to be discovering light, colour, freedom, the sun, the joy of living, for the first time. […] In Paris, I at last saw in a vision the kind of art I wanted to create’ (Marc Chagall, quoted in E. Roditi, Dialogues: Conversations with Artists in the Mid-Century, San Francisco, 1990, p. 20). The first Paris period of 1911-14 was formative and liberating for Chagall; a synthesis of artistic developments from his native Russia with the new impetus of the Fauve, Cubist and Old Master pictures of the Paris art world in which he was now immersed. Chagall, his wife Bella and daughter Ida, made their home in Paris for much of the 1920s and 1930s. Marc Chagall chose to live in France because as he put it: ‘I always felt that France is my real home because only in France and especially in Paris, do I feel truly free as a painter of light and colour. (quoted in E. Roditi, Dialogues: Conversations with Artists in the Mid-Century, San Francisco, 1990, p. 20). After a decade of wartime exile in New York, and following the untimely death of Bella, Chagall returned a deeply changed man, to the sanctuary of Paris, living first in Orgeval, a village in the impressionist heartland, before moving to Vence and thereafter dividing his time between the Côte d’Azur and the City of Lights. Paris remained an eternal inspiration for Chagall, whose paintings often depict its landmarks, including Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Garnier Opéra, for which he was commissioned in 1960 to conceive and realize a monumental ceiling painting of 220 m2 , the first of its kind dedicated to an historical building in France.
Marc Chagall: My Art, My life
Over the course of his long artistic career, Chagall painted a large number of self-portraits, each composition providing a revealing insight into his developing sense of artistic and personal identity at important junctures in his life, reflecting the ways in which he wished to be seen by the wider world. While in many examples, Chagall presents himself in the quintessential pose of an artist – positioned in front of his easel, with his palette on his lap and his brushes conjoined to his hand – in others, the artist adopts the guise of fantastical characters or hybrid creatures, which revealed different aspects of his personality and energy. With these self-portraits, Chagall outlined the key events, moments, experiences and elements that had shaped him as a human and an artist, revealing the many layers of personal history which underpinned his sense of the world.
Michelle McMullan, Senior Specialist, Impressionist and Modern Art, London: “Christie’s are delighted to be presenting the second part of our series of international sales dedicated to Marc Chagall in Hong Kong this November. A master of 20th century European modernism, Chagall’s unique artistic trajectory offers motifs for life’s many facets and complexities that are both personal to the artist and universal to us all. The works that comprise ‘Marc Chagall, Colour of Life: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate, (Part 2)’ demonstrate in particular the experimental techniques of the artist’s later works, revealing the constant innovation that underpinned his easel painting, as he explored new media and responded to the latest artistic trends that were sweeping the avant-garde.”
Tan Bo, Senior Vice President, International Director, Impressionist & Modern Art, Christie’s Beijing: “It is an honour for Christie’s to be entrusted with this in-depth body of work originating formerly from the Chagall Estate, which offers an insight into the creative mind of one of the 20th century’s foremost artistic visionaries. Given the strong participation from bidders in Asia and the phenomenal results achieved in the first part of this sale series in London earlier this year, we are very excited to be offering another outstanding selection of Chagall works in our Hong Kong Autumn sales. With oil paintings and works on paper presented across a broad range of price points, this is an unprecedented opportunity for collectors in the region to own an iconic work by the artist that has never come to the market before.”
Public Preview: Hong Kong | 26 – 30 November | Convention Hall, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, No.1 Harbour Road, Wanchai
Live Auction: Hong Kong | 1 December | Convention Hall, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, No.1 Harbour Road, Wanchai
Address: Hall 3D, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, No.1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
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