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Lot 38
Marc Chagall(1887-1985)Maternité dans l'âne rouge 12 5/8 x 9 1/2 in (32 x 24 cm)
14 November 2017, 17:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$312,500 inc. premium
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Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Maternité dans l'âne rouge
signed and dated '1981 Chagall' (lower right); signed and dated 'Chagall/ 1981' (to the reverse)
tempera on masonite
12 5/8 x 9 1/2 in (32 x 24 cm)
Painted in 1981
signed and dated '1981 Chagall' (lower right); signed and dated 'Chagall/ 1981' (to the reverse)
tempera on masonite
12 5/8 x 9 1/2 in (32 x 24 cm)
Painted in 1981
Footnotes
Provenance
Private collection, San Rafael, California.
Galerie Michael, Beverly Hills, California.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
The Comité Marc Chagall has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Throughout his life, and particularly in his later years, Chagall drew on childhood recollections of Vitebsk, city of his birth in what was then the Russian Empire. He attempted to develop a unique and personal style by distancing himself from external artistic influences, arriving at a synthesis of Modernism, Symbolism and Surrealism, but avoiding a firm association with any particular movement.
The dream-like setting of Maternité dans l'âne includes characteristic elements of Chagall's pictorial language. The scene is suffused with an ink-blue background that envelops the composition, creating a distinctive otherworldly atmosphere. The importance of memory and reminiscence is revealed through the depiction of Vitebsk, which he tenderly painted long after he had arrived in France. The quiet meandering streets and uneven rooftops, including the red house in which he was born, can be seen in the lower section of the composition.
It was in Vitebsk that he met Bella Rosenfeld, his great love and first wife. They were inseparable from their marriage in 1915 until her tragic death in 1944 while the couple were in exile in New York. The loss of both his wife and his beloved Vitebsk during the war affected him profoundly. The figure of Bella is recognizable in the present work by her white bridal dress and elongated figure. Significantly, the 'Bella' figure appears at the heart of the composition carry a child, a reference to their daughter Ida, born in 1916.
The composition also includes other characteristic elements, including the rooster, probably an allusion to Mother Russia, and the donkey, which can be interpreted as representation of the artist himself. In this he was careful to project an image of himself as an 'untutored, intuitive and self-sufficient artist', influenced by the primitive and inspired by his inner life, his memories and his imagination.