Description

Marc Chagall  ‘Oeuvres Récentes, Galerie Maeght’ – litho poster 1959

Lithograph signed on the plate

Paper Size: 12.5 x 9.25 inches ( 34 x 25 cm )

Image Size: 7.5 x 8.5 inches ( 19.5 x 23 cm )

Additional Details: From the exhibition poster for Chagall at Galerie Maeght, 1950

Limited edition printed by Ateliers Mourlot

Part of the ‘Art in Posters” by Sauret (1959) after the original poster, number 14

Absolute mint condition

Info on Marc Chagall :

Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; 6 July 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a Belarusian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several major artistic styles and created works in a wide range of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints.

Born in modern-day Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire, he was of Belarusian Jewish origin. Before World War I, he travelled between Saint Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin. During this period he created his own mixture and style of modern art based on his idea of Eastern Europe and Jewish folk culture. He spent the wartime years in Belarus, becoming one of the country’s most distinguished artists and a member of the modernist avant-garde, founding the Vitebsk Arts College before leaving again for Paris in 1923.

Chagall’s art can be understood as the response to a situation that has long marked the history of Russian Jews. Though they were cultural innovators who made important contributions to the broader society, Jews were considered outsiders in a frequently hostile society… Chagall himself was born of a family steeped in religious life; his parents were observant Hasidic Jews who found spiritual satisfaction in a life defined by their faith and organized by prayer.

In Paris, Vollard commissioned Chagall to illustrate the Old Testament. Although he could have completed the project in France, he used the assignment as an excuse to travel to Israel to experience for himself the Holy Land. In 1931 Marc Chagall and his family traveled to Tel Aviv on the invitation of Meir Dizengoff.

Chagall ended up staying in the Holy Land for two months. Chagall felt at home in Israel where many people spoke Yiddish and Russian. According to Jacob Baal-Teshuva, “he was impressed by the pioneering spirit of the people in the kibbutzim and deeply moved by the Wailing Wall and the other holy places” He returned to France and by the next year had completed 32 out of the total of 105 plates. By 1939, at the beginning of World War II, he had finished 66. However, Vollard died that same year. When the series was completed in 1956, it was published by Edition Tériade. Baal-Teshuva writes that “the illustrations were stunning and met with great acclaim. Once again Chagall had shown himself to be one of the 20th century’s most important graphic artists”.

By 1946, his artwork was becoming more widely recognized. The Museum of Modern Art in New York had a large exhibition representing 40 years of his work which gave visitors one of the first complete impressions of the changing nature of his art over the years. The war had ended and he began making plans to return to Paris. According to Cogniat, “He found he was even more deeply attached than before, not only to the atmosphere of Paris, but to the city itself, to its houses and its views.” Chagall summed up his years living in America: I lived here in America during the inhuman war in which humanity deserted itself… I have seen the rhythm of life. I have seen America fighting with Allies… the wealth that she has distributed to bring relief to the people who had to suffer the consequences of the war… I like America and the Americans… people there are frank. It is a young country with the qualities and faults of youth. It is a delight to love people like that… Above all I am impressed by the greatness of this country and the freedom that it gives.

He went back to France for good during the autumn of 1947, where he attended the opening of the exhibition of his works at the Musée National d’Art Moderne. After returning to France he traveled throughout Europe and chose to live in the Côte d’Azur which by that time had become somewhat of an “artistic centre”. Matisse lived near Saint-Paul-de-Vence, about seven miles west of Nice, while Picasso lived in Vallauris. Although they lived nearby and sometimes worked together, there was artistic rivalry between them as their work was so distinctly different, and they never became long-term friends. In 1954, he was engaged as set decorator for Robert Helpmann’s production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Le Coq d’Or at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, but he withdrew. The Australian designer Loudon Sainthill was drafted at short notice in his place.

In the years ahead he was able to produce not just paintings and graphic art, but also numerous sculptures and ceramics, including wall tiles, painted vases, plates and jugs. He also began working in larger-scale formats, producing large murals, stained glass windows, mosaics and tapestries. In 1963, Chagall was commissioned to paint the new ceiling for the Paris Opera (Palais Garnier), a majestic 19th-century building and national monument. André Malraux, France’s Minister of Culture wanted something unique and decided Chagall would be the ideal artist. Chagall accepted the project, which took the 77-year-old artist a year to complete. The final canvas was nearly 2,400 square feet (220 sq. meters) and required 440 pounds (200 kg) of paint. It had five sections which were glued to polyester panels and hoisted up to the 70-foot (21 m) ceiling. The images Chagall painted on the canvas paid tribute to the composers Mozart, Wagner, Mussorgsky, Berlioz and Ravel, as well as to famous actors and dancers. It was presented to the public on 23 September 1964 in the presence of Malraux and 2,100 invited guests.