Created in 1964, this image was part of twelve lithographs which Chagall designed after the stain glass windows he created for the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew Medical Center located just outside of Jerusalem. This work belongs to the numbered edition of 150 which was printed with the leading. On the lower right hand on the reverse side of the sheet, there is the printed text which states the title and reads in part, "Gouache sur Papier, Repuroudite en lithographie, Ch Sorlier, Graveur - Mourlot, Imp."

Displaying a profusion of animals and vegetal details, this work expresses a sense of plenty and abundance. As a graphic depiction of stain glass, this image is remarkable in its luminescent quality.

In her book The Jerusalem Windows, Jean Leymarie states, "the harmony of the window rests on a dominant light green, tender and clam, which is the very expression of spring and of paradisial joy. The principal produce of Issachar, the vine, so often celebrated in the Bible as the principle of fertility and especially, as the mystic symbol of Israel itself…, circles in a continuous garland around the window. The lovingly painted trees and plants, in which birds perch, exalt the luxuriant vegetation. The robust ass, symbolizing the tribe, indolently savors the splendor of his country. The weight which he ought to bear as the tribute of a slave is sufficiently light for Chagall to represent it with humor by means of a tiny bird, outlined in black. One notices, in near transparency, a prosperous village (in this sections, notice the counterpoint of grisaille and leading) and flocks spread out over the countryside. At the center, two hands in blessing (in a nonritual gesture) inscribe, under a triangle of light where the text of the first verse of Jacob's blessing is written in Hebrew, the two most intense color accents of the composition: emerald and carmine" (Leymarie, 41).

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It 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) Leymarie, Jean, Marc Chagall the Jerusalem Windows, 1975, listed on pages 41-47.

2) Sorlier, Charles, Chagall Lithographs, 1974-79, 1984, with an illustration of the version without the leading on page 208 as plate CS 17.