The artist's estate
O'Hara Gallery, New York
Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Very good condition. Work is not laid down. Affixed to mat at corners and periodically along edges. Sheet is slightly wavy due to medium.
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Inspired by his religious upbringing in Vitebsk, Russia, Chagall returned to religious themes in his art throughout his career.  In an interview published in the catalogue for his exhibition Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall in 1973, he comments, "The bible has fascinated me since childhood.  I have always thought of it as the greatest sources of poetry of all time. I have sought its reflection in life and in art.  The Bible is like a reverberation of nature and it is this mystery I have tried to convey"(Andrew Kegan, Marc Chagall, New York, 1964, p.105). 

Job, painted towards the end of Chagall's life, is a beautifully complex composition, swirling with manifold symbols and images.  Figures of all sizes co-exist witജhin a flat dynamic pictorial plane.  Job, a biblical character that endured great suffering in his lifetime, is the largest figure in the painting.  He lies with his head resting on the lap of his wife, clutching the bible to his chest.  To the upper right, the crucifixion scene is depicted; a theme rooted in Chagall's exposure to Russian icons during his youth.  Above, the angel Gabriel glides though the sky and the Torah floats effortlessly in space.

The composition is similar to other works in which Chagall creates dream-like environments where lovers, bathed in moonlight, passionately intertwine surrounded by bouquets of flowers.  These unconventional compositional arrangements inspired the Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever to refer to his friend as a "painter-poet."  Job isꦐ a wonderful example of Chagall's ability to unify religious iconography with his renowned serene atmospheres.