Estate of the artist

Private Collection, Japan

 

Paris, Musée de Louvre, Pavillon de Flore, Marc Chagall, Peintures récentes 1967-1977, 1977-78, no. 24, illustrated in the catalogue

Paris, Galerie Boulakia, Marc Chagall, 2003, illustrated in the catalogue

Fécamp, Palais Benedictine, Marc Chagall, "Le Pays de mon âme," 2004, illustrated in the catalogue

Salzburg, Galerie Salis & Vertes, Marc Chagall, Olgemalde - Gouachen - Zeichnungen, 2006-07, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Original canvas. The surface is fresh. Under ultra-violet light, there is no evidence of retouching. Excellent condition. Colors: The colors are more strongly contrasted and more vibrant than they appear in the catalogue illustration. In particular, the red is more scarlet in tone and the black is much deeper
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.

Scène paysanne is a quintessential example of Chagall's mastery in assembling an array of folkloric images in a dense and colorful composition. This work contains several of the most crucial elements in the artist's pictorial iconography: the lovers; the dual presence of the sun and the crescent moon; the rooster; the goat, a symbol of his agrarian roots and domesticitꦿy; and a landscape evoking both the poor villages of his childhood home in Russia and the Mediterranean coastal towns in the south of Fra❀nce.

Each figure is masterfully rendered through a matrix of intense color and spatial experimentation that epitomized Chagall's work, reflecting his own very personal delight in the act of painting. As Susan Compton wrote in the catalogue of the Royal Academy's Chagall retrospective, "Throughout his life certain themes recur in the work of Chagall: the circus, lovers and peasants... For the themes in Chagall's art are timeless, not confined to a single epoch of history, but reminding man of the continuity of life for generation and generation, since the earliest days of recorded time" (Susan Compton, Chagall (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1985, p🍃.⛎ 14).

Love, marriage and family were recurring subjects in his art. Chagall's own love story began in 1909, when he met Bella Rosenfeld, the daughter of a wealthy Vitebsk merchant family. She served as an inspiration and model for his art for decades. After Bella's death in 1952, Chagall married Valentina Brodsky. His new wife, affectionately known as Vava, began to appear in his work in the late 1950s. Her features were more generalized as she became an emblem for the ideal woman in the painter's cel༺ebration of love and family.