Marc Chagall Le Dauphin mort et les trois cents Écus (The Dead Dolphin and the Thee Hundred Dracmas) from Daphnis and Chloé, 1960 perfectly captures the dreamy darkness of a moon-lit sea at night. At the top is the searching figure of Daphnis, a lovesick youth yearning to marry the beautiful Chloe. Considering himself to poor to be allowed her hand in marriage, Daphnis calls on the magical Nymphs to help him win Chloe. The Nymphs tell him of a secret stash of coins that has shipwrecked on the shore next to a dead dolphin, the body of which keeps anyone passing by from discovering the money. Here we see Daphnis discovering the treasure that will make him a rich man and bring him closer to marrying the young woman he loves. The composition of the work is echoing with crescent shapes and soft curving lines, from the sliver of a moon at the top to the bending form of Daphnis, to the playfully simple white fish at the foreground. The piece carries all of the lovely tenderness and whimsical stylization that became the hallmark of Chagall’s style.

Created in 1960, Le Dauphin mort et les trois cents Écus (The Dead Dolphin and the Thee Hundred Dracmas) is a color lithograph on Arches paper. This work is hand signed by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk, 1887 - Saint-Paul, 1985) in pencil in the lower right margin and numbered from the edition of 60 in the lower left margin.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Marc Chagall Le Dauphin mort et les trois cents Écus (The Dead Dolphin and the Thee Hundred Dracmas) from Daphnis and Chloé, 1960 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 sale of the work).

1. Gauss, Ulrike, ed. Marc Chagall, The Lithographs - la Collection Sorlier. New York: Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., 1998. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 338.

2. Mourlot, Fernand. The Lithographs of Chagall, vol. II 1957-1962, Monté Carlo, 1960. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 338 on pgs. 154-155 and detailed on pg. 131.

3. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Marc Chagall Le Dauphin mort et les trois cents Écus (The Dead Dolphin and the Thee Hundred Dracmas) from Daphnis and Chloé, 1960 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.