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Chagall, Marc, Carmen (1966)
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Signed Marc Chagall, Lithograph, Carmen (1966)  |
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| Artist: | Chagall, Marc (1887 - 1985) |
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| Title: | Carmen (1966) |
| Medium: | Original Color Chagall Lithograph |
| Image Size: | 39 9/16 in x 25 9/16 in (100.48 cm x 64.92 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 40 3/16 in x 26 3/16 in (102.08 cm x 66.52 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 60 3/4 in x 47 in (154.31cm x 119.38cm) |
| Signed: | Hand signed by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) in pencil in the lower right |
| Edition: | Numbered from the edition of 200 in pencil in the lower left |
| Condition: | Remarkably vivid color with rich saturation, this work is in excellent condition |
| Price: Item# 2261 | $SOLD Please visit the rest of our Chagall fine art collection |
| Historical Description: | |
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This beautifully rich scene comes alive with color and vivid imagery in a way that immerses its audience into a world of fantasy and whimsy. Carmen bursts with energy and captures the imagination of all who admire it. Created in 1966 from a maquette for Chagall's "Triumph of Music," a series of 3 large-scale decorations created for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York (one being Carmen, The Magic Flute, Romeo and Juliet). Numbered from the edition of 200 in the lower right, this piece was pulled on Arches vellum paper and also hand signed by Marc Chagall in the lower right. A small inscription in the lower left states: 'D'Apres Marc Chagall - Ch. Sorlier Grav,' indicating Charles Sorlier as the publisher of the piece. Printed by Mourlot, Paris for the Editions of the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Considered to be one of Chagall's most exquisite works, Carmen is an example of a musically rich and historic tradition to which Chagall wanted to pay homage. In the center, a whimsical mandolin player captures our attention, twirling his instrument and dressed in bright, colorful costume; this musician was later to be revealed as the artist's close confidante, Rudolf Bing, director of the Metropolitan Opera House at the time. It was a secret - yet recognizable - portrait of not only his friend, but the patron who commissioned this piece. It had been a tradition that dated back to the middle ages in which artists would include patrons in the pieces they commissioned, something Chagall had recognized and wanted to celebrate within this work. Having had to adapt Carmen to a large-scale format to occupy the height of the façade of the Metropolitan Opera House, "Chagall was indefatigable in attempting time after time to achieve the desired result, with ever-increasing effectiveness" (Sorlier 110). The outcome was a meticulously detailed and marvelous work which is apparent in this poster format. Several retouches and color & compositional changes resulted in several months of perfecting the work. Carmen is proof of Chagall's enduring talent and skill of extracting each color, pushing it to its boldest and brightest to create a scene of dazzling performers set over a dreamy cityscape. Catalogue Raisonné & COA: 1) Sorlier, Charles. Chagall's Posters, A Catalogue Raisonné, 1975. Detailed and illustrated on pg. 108-11 About the Framing: | |
| Style: | 20th Century Modern Master, Lovers, French and Russian |
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Biography of Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (1887 - 1985)
Marc Chagall was born July 7, 1887, in Vitebsk, Russia. From 1907 to 1910, he studied in Saint Petersburg, at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts and later with Léon Bakst. In 1910, he moved to Paris, where he associated with Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay and encountered Fauvism and Cubism. He participated in the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne in 1912. His first solo show was held in 1914 at Der Sturm gallery in Berlin.
Chagall visited Russia in 1914, and was prevented from returning to Paris by the outbreak of war. He settled in Vitebsk, where he was appointed Commissar for Art in 1918. He founded the Vitebsk Popular Art School and directed it until disagreements with the Suprematists resulted in his resignation in 1920. He moved to Moscow and executed his first stage designs for the State Jewish Chamber Theater there. After a sojourn in Berlin, Chagall returned to Paris in 1923 and met Ambroise Vollard. His first retrospective took place in 1924 at the Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert, Paris. During the 1930s, he traveled to Palestine, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Italy. In 1933, the Kunsthalle Basel held a major retrospective of his work.
During World War II, Chagall fled to the United States. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, gave him a retrospective in 1946. He settled permanently in France in 1948 and exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam, and London. During 1951, he visited Israel and executed his first sculptures. The following year, the artist traveled in Greece and Italy. During the 1960s, Chagall continued to travel widely, often in association with large-scale commissions he received. Among these were windows for the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, installed in 1962; a ceiling for the Paris Opéra, installed in 1964; a window for the United Nations building, New York, installed in 1964; murals for the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, installed in 1967; and windows for the cathedral in Metz, France, installed in 1968. An exhibition of the artist's work from 1967 to 1977 was held at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, in 1977-78, and a major retrospective was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1985. During his lifetime he also created popular lithographs, such as Maternity. Chagall died March 28, 1985, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.
"When Matisse dies," Pablo Picasso remarked, "Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what color really is." Picasso claimed he was not a fan of the "flying violins and all the folklore, but his canvases are really painted, not just thrown together." He followed up by saying, "There's never been anybody since Renoir who has the feeling for light that Chagall has."
The Haggerty Museum describes The Bible Chagall prints as showing "Chagall's fluid forms, dreamlike sense of space and unique style. In his choice of subject matter, Chagall reveals his reading of the Old Testament in its moments of triumph, sorrow, and prophecy."
