Footnotes

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Comité Marc Chagall.

Provenance
Galerie Maeght, Paris (acquired directly from the artist).
Henry Krongold Collection, Melbourne (acquired from the above on 10 January 1978).
Paul Benjamin Philip Krongold Collection, Melbourne (by descent from the above in 2003).

Literature
J. Mitchell, Henry Krongold, Memoirs, Sydney, 2003, pp. 134-135.

'There is no such thing as progress, there is nothing to regret. There is only your life, which you put into your work'. - Marc Chagall

When Souvenirs was executed in 1976, Chagall was happily settled in the south of France, enjoying the peaceful rhythms of life in the Mediterranean. The artist described his years in this part of the world, starting in 1950, as a 'bouquet of roses' (S. Alexander, Marc Chagall: A Biography, New York, 1978, p. 492), and this halcyon existence was certainly a fitting capstone to a long career which was defined by periods of suffering. From the sudden death of his first love Bella Rosenfeld in 1944, to his years of exile in America during the Holocaust, Chagall's identity was inevitably shaped by the tragic years of the Second World War.

For Chagall, his life and his art were always inextricably linked, with different moments and experiences leaving an indelible mark on his creative vision. In his last years, his creative output did not waver, and in the retrospection of his old age, he looked back at his cosmopolitan life and painted the compendium of memories and images that filled his mind. Having re-married in 1952 to Valentine 'Vava' Brodsky, his life was full of recognition and riches, unimaginable to a boy who came from a poor Jewish family, whose father had hauled barrels in a herring warehouse for a living. In 1977, a year after the present work was painted, the French state awarded Chagall the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.

Chagall planted various roots throughout his life. Born and raised in Vitebsk, in Russia, he first went to Paris in 1910 where he was introduced to the artistic circles of the Parisian avant-garde. After a period in Russia during the First World War, he returned to the French capital in 1923, before escaping to America during World War II. Most enduringly, he spent the latter part of his life in the south of France, which served as a wonderful source of creative inspiration.

Souvenirs contains many of Chagall's most iconic motifs, encompassing the full range of the artist's deeply personal and beguiling imagery. His art typically reveals different moods and aspects of his character, and in this painting, boldly in the foreground, is Chagall himself, represented as the endlessly creative painter. Smiling at his easel, palette and brushes gripped in one hand, he depicts a nude woman on a large canvas. On the right-hand side, he is accompanied by a characterful rabbi holding the Torah. Set in a dream-like, nocturnal setting, shrouded in snow, the background depicts a cluster of rural houses, which denotes the traditional village of his Russian hometown. Above, in the magical night sky, lit by an orange crescent moon, a playful goat, flying fish, and floating violin player contend for the attention of the viewer.

In Vitebsk, Jews had led a traditional life and the village street was a barnyard of wandering animals. Chagall's familiarity with goats and chickens explains their emergence in his paintings, expressing the strangeness of life and to convey an emotional message. Symbolic meanings can always be found in his imagery; the fiddler for example - a recurrent figure in his oeuvre - traditionally played music to commemorate the crossroads of life, namely birth, marriage, and death. The intense originality of Chagall's artistic imagery is wonderfully demonstrated by Souvenirs; figures and forms defy gravity, and there is no shortage of whimsical detail.

The houses in the background are a tribute to Chagall's childhood home of Vitebsk, which was largely destroyed during World War II. As Chagall got older, his thoughts turned increasingly to the more distant past of his childhood, which he memorialised in his painting. In June 1973, Chagall went back to Russia at the official invitation of the Soviet State for the exhibition held at the Tretyakov Museum of all his works in the collection. At 85 years old, it was his first time back since 1922. Travelling through Moscow and Leningrad, Chagall did not return to his beloved Vitebsk. As he said: 'Even the gravestones are no longer standing since the war. If the graves were still there, I would have gone. They tell me a corner of our house is still standing, but could I have stepped inside? Could you?' (H. Kamm, 'Emotional Return to Russia Buoys Chagall', in The New York Times, 17 June 1973, p. 1).

The depiction of the Jewish rabbi, holding a Torah, is a wonderful homage to Chagall's Jewish heritage and his upbringing. Chagall explored this subject throughout his career. Following the tumultuous war years, Chagall was able, once again, to envisage the transcendent Jew rising above the tragedy of the Holocaust, a survivor who does not let go of his traditions and faith.

The vibrant palette and ethereal setting are emblematic of Chagall's most innovative works. Colour was always pivotal to his art, and it took on a new significance once he settled in the sun-drenched Mediterranean. Even within the context of twilight, Chagall was a master colourist; chromatic variations are achieved via the combination of gouache, watercolour, and India ink. The bright touches of red and yellow contrast to the deep blues and blacks, showcasing an artist who revelled in the sensuous and symbolic possibilities of colour. The dark sky is a perfect background for brilliant flashes of colour which subtly yet suddenly shift to animate his inner vision and imbue a powerful sense of spiritual mysticism. His approach was free of constraint as he scraped and pushed paint across the surface, revealing multiple colour hues which marry reality and his lyrical dreams into painting.

Every image and icon represented in Souvenirs reflect Chagall's unique outlook on the world, and ultimately, the work is a celebration of nostalgia, love, and hope. Addressing how Chagall fused personal history and emotion in his works, Franz Meyer wrote: 'Psychic construction operates with colours, forms and motifs, exploits this myriad variety and so creates a new world...the Vitebsk of memory, the mystery of love and religion...the references move to and fro, sustained by the vigorous yet mysterious life of the colour' (F. Meyer, Chagall, New York, 1963, p. 54).

The present work is a testament to Chagall's steady optimism and capacity for celebration. Indeed, as the artist commented earlier in his career, shortly after his arrival in Paris: 'Despite all the troubles of our world, in my heart I have never given up on the love in which I was brought up or on man's hope in love. In life, just as on the artist's palette, there is but one single colour that gives meaning to life and art – the colour of love' (M. Chagall quoted in J.B Teshuva, Chagall, Cologne, 1998, p. 10).

Bonhams is honoured to present this beautiful work, which was acquired by the eminent Australian collector Henry Krongold CBE in 1978, from the esteemed Galerie Maeght in Paris. Born in Poland to a Jewish family, Krongold emigrated to Australia during World War II, where he dedicated his life to philanthropy and the Arts. Appointed as Chair of the Art Foundation of the National Gallery of Victoria, he was responsible for many important acquisitions, and from 1976 onwards, focussed on building his own collection. By travelling extensively to European galleries and museums, he forged close relationships with prominent dealers of the modern milieu, including Monsieur Lelong from Galerie Maeght, fondly described in his memoirs. As a Jewish emigree himself, who managed to avoid capture, Krongold was fascinated by the Jewish Modern masters - his impeccable eye as a collector is demonstrated by Reuven Rubin's Elijah and the Chariot of Fire (see lot 18) and this thought-provoking Chagall, both of which now come to the market for the very first time.