$3,250
1931-1939 or 1952-1956 hand-colored etching 41. 5 x 32.5 cm (16 1/8 x 12 3/4 in.) signed in plate lower left; initialed in the margin lower right numbered lower left PROVENANCE Findlay Galleries, Palm Beach, FL LOT NOTES I did not see the Bible, I dreamed it. ...It has always seemed to me and still seems today the greatest source of poetry of all time. -Marc Chagall Upon being commissioned by Ambrose Vollard to illustrate the Old Testament, Chagall took a trip to the Holy Land, where he allowed himself to be immersed in the history of his ancestors, and gathered inspiration for this monumental project. Between 1931 and 1939, Chagall executed 66 of the full cycle of 105 plates, with a halt brought on by the death of Vollard and the advent of WWII. It was not until 1952 that he returned to the series, completing the remainder by 1956, when they were published by Teriade. A number of the works, the present lot among them, were hand-painted by the artist with his characteristic, bright splashes of color. Picasso once reportedly told Francoise Gilot: When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what color is... His canvases are really painted, not just tossed together. Some of the last things he`s done... convince me that there`s never been anybody since Renoir who has the feeling for light that Chagall has.
Auctioneer:
Shapiro Auctions
Date:
2015-09-26
