Ida Chagall, Paris (the artist's daughter; acquired directly from the artist)
Sale: Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, June 15, 2012, lot 23
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Painted on canvasbaord. The canvasboard is very gently bowed. The colors are bright and fresh. Under uv light, certain original pigments fluoresce but no inpainting is apparent.. Excellent
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.

Autour de la femme au visage rouge offers a spectacular amalgamation of some of Chagall’s most recognizable motifs: symbols of his Eastern European heritage, domesticity and a landscape evoking both the villages of his childhood home in Russia and the Mediterranean coastal towns in the South of France. He employs the color blue throughout to create a sense of mysticism, alluding to the spiritual significance that color holds in religious iconography. The combination of these elements results in a whimsical, dream-like composition that becomes an expression of the artist’s internal universe rather than an objective commentary of the modern world.

The journalist Alexander Liberman, who visited Chagall in the late 1950s, eloquently described the complexity and intimacy of Chagall's paintings: "Like a human being, a Chagall painting reveals its rich complexity only if one has lived with it and in it, in the way the artist has during its creation. One must look at his paintings closely to experience their full power. After the impact of the overall effect, there is the joy of the close-up discovery. In this intimate scrutiny, the slightest variation takes on immense importance. We cannot concentrate for a long time; our senses tire quickly and we need, after moments of intense stimulation, periods of rest. Chagall understands this visual secret better than most painters; he draws our interest into a corner where minute details hold it, and when we tire of that, we rest, floating in a space of color, until the eye lands on a new small island of quivering life" (Alexander Liberman, "The Artist in His Studio," 1958, reprinted in Jacob Baal-Teshuva, Chagall: A Retrospective, New York, 1995, p. 337).