Commonly accepted as Chagall’s most stunning printed work, this monumental composition offers the viewer vivid colors and poignant imagery, awarding this piece a life and vigor of its own.

Created in 1967, this work was inspired by a performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in which he created the sets and costume shown on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House of New York.  It is one of the few artist-signed examples out of the 200 numbered on Arches wove paper.  The image is also engraved in the plate “d’Apres Marc Chagall – Ch. Sorlier Grav.”

Stunning in its poetic display of color, this work mimics the melodic symphony of The Magic Flute.  Its animals are bursting with emotion while the angelic figure in the center plays benevolently, leading us to believe the flute is truly magical.  The viewer is lulled by the cool hues of blue and green which swirl around the characters’ glee while yellows and reds help anchor the composition and lighten up the forest floor.  This quality of restive tonality accented by climactic hues, calls to mind the ebb and wane of Mozart’s orchestral arrangements.  The imagery further highlights the movement in which the colors, richly saturated and alive, effortlessly glide across the picture plain and echo the mastery of Mozart’s craft.

Illustrated In:
1) Sorlier, Charles.  Chagall Lithographs, 1974-1979, listed and detailed on pg. 234 as cat. no. CS 38.
2) Sorlier, Charles. Chagall's Posters: A Catalogue Raisonné, listed on page 106-107.

About The Framing:
Framed in museum quality archival materials, this work is set in a Renaissance-inspired gold leaf frame.  The bright gold of the moulding compliments the cool tones in the work, while the elaborate curvatures cast within the frame resonate the motion and richness of the piece itself.  The simple stepped elements also accentuate the linear quality of this work.  Completed with white, linen wrapped mattes and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind archival Plexiglas.