Marc Chagall, L'Horloge (The Clock), 1956

Artist: Marc Chagall (1887 - 1985)
Title:L'Horloge (The Clock), 1956
Reference:M. 1202
Medium:Original Color Etching and Aquatint
Image Size:12 1/4 in x 9 3/16 in (31.1 cm x 23.3 cm)
Sheet Size:22 in x 15 in (55.9 cm x 38.1 cm)
Framed Size:29 in x 25 in (73.7 cm x 63.5 cm)
Edition:Numbered from the edition of 300 in pencil at lower left; printed by Georges Visat and published by Maeght, Paris.
Signature:This work is hand signed by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk, 1887 - Saint-Paul, 1985) in pencil at lower right; it is also signed in the plate in the lower left side of the image.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition, with bold, fresh colors.
ID #w-7887

Historical Description

Marc Chagall etching and aquatint L'Horloge (The Clock), 1956 captivates the viewer with its dreamy imagery. Franz Meyer, the artist's son-in-law, writes that the clock represents, variously, "a mysterious item in the inventory of the world of [Chagall's] childhood," a reminder of homely memories, and an object personified, sporting a boot and a wing (Meyer, 379). These various incarnations illuminate the many meanings of the clock, part furniture, part machine. By marking the time, it marks the passing of human life and, "In that very way it draws attention to the limits of the world of time and separates the human world from the eternal" (Ibid.). L'Horloge thus invites the viewer to contemplate the passing of time in its ethereal universe, where lovers blend with the green arc of the sky and the buildings sleep quiet and blue below. The work is wistful, romantic and mysterious all at once. Activating many visual phrases and layers of meaning, Chagall creates a work in which one can get lost.

Created in 1956, this color etching and aquatint was printed on BFK Rives paper by Georges Visat. The printer's blindstamp can be found in the lower left margin and his name in the lower right. This work is hand signed by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk, 1887 - Saint-Paul, 1985) in pencil at the lower right, and is also signed in the plate at the lower left. Published by Maeght, Paris, this work is numbered from the edition of 300 in pencil in the lower left.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Marc Chagall etching and aquatint The Clock (L'Horloge), 1956 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).

1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:
Marc Chagall etching and aquatint The Clock (L'Horloge), 1956  is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards in a complementary moulding with a linen-wrapped mat and optical-grade Plexiglas.