Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Lot 1357 Property From a Private West Coast Collection 

Marc Chagall (1887-1985)

Le peintre en rouge

Closed15 May 2015

Price Realised

USD 317,000

More Information

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Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Le peintre en rouge
signed 'Marc Chagall' (lower right); signed again and inscribed 'Chagall Tempera' (on the reverse)
tempera, gouache and brush and India ink on masonite
16 1/8 x 12 ¾ in. (41 x 32.3 cm.)
Painted circa 1981

Private collection, Los Angeles.
Anon. sale, Sotheby's, New York, 8 November 2006, lot 536.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note

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

Le peintre en rouge is a lyrical celebration of love and life brimming with the mystery and life-enhancing wonder that suffuse Chagall's works. The main couple looms over the roofs of a town that appears to resemble the artist's childhood home in Vitebsk. The pair are romantic characters within the swirling drama of the picture. An intriguing assortment of strange and dream-like elements float through the picture, ranging from the artist at his easel to various figures and a rooster, as though a cast of characters and nostalgic facets from Chagall's past has burst into life on its surface. In the work, Chagall is represented not only as the central figure of the rooster but also as the artist at his easel, painting a lively bouquet of flowers against a midnight sky.