Galerie Maeght, Paris
Private Collection, Hong Kong (acquired from the above in 1973)
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 8, 2003, lot 136
Sale: Sotheby's, London, June 20, 2006, lot 219
Acquired at the above sale

Manila, Kanloan Towers, Art Exhibition from Japan, 1976
Yamagata Prefectural Museum, Chagall Retrospective, 1987
Tokyo, Odaku Grand Gallery; Himeji City Museum of Art; Tsu, Mie Prefectural Museum; Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum, Chagall, 1992-93

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount at the top two corners. The bottom, top and right edges are deckled. Apart from some areas of foxing to all four extreme edges (not visible when framed) this work is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work, executed in 1969, presents an array of some of Chagall's best-loved subjects such as a large bouquet of flowers, a cockerel and a clown alongside iconic views and monuments of Paris, which all converge into one picture plane to create an ensemble of parallel story lines. The ability to bring a variety of loosely connected elements together in one painting is unique to Chagall, from which he produces views and scenes of a dream-like quality. As the artist himself proclaimed: "For me a picture is a surface covered with representations of things (objects, animals, human beings) in a certain order in which logic and illustration have no importance. The visual effect of the composition is what is paramount" (quoted in Susan Compton, Chagall, (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Art, London, 1985, p.𝄹 21).

 

The haphazard composition of this work presents figures, flowers and animals that tower above views of Paris and its emblematic monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde. These two juxtaposed views represent the inner and outer world of the artist. The Parisian views stemmed from Chagall's 1946 series of Parisian sketches when he visited the city for the first time after the war, and remained a subject the artist would regularly and lovingly revisit throughout his career. As Chagall himself stated in Verve in 1952: "Paris reflêt de mon coeur; je voudrais m'y fonder, ne point être seul avec moi-même (Paris, my heart's mirrored image ; I should like to blend with it and not to be alone with myself)" (quoted in Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall, Life and Work, New York, 1961, p. 545).