Sunset, 1967 (Nice et la Côte d'Azur, CS.26)
1967

About the Item

Sunset (CS.26) from Marc Chagall's Nice et la Côte d'Azur suite is a lithograph on paper, signed 'Marc Chagall' lower right and numbered lower left XVI/LXXV, from the edition of 235 (there were also 150 Arabic, and 10 artist proofs, plus a few other proofs for collaborators). Framed in an ornate/fleur de lis, white gold, closed-corner frame. Marc Chagall was hugely influenced by the light and lush vegetation in the South of France. His deep bond with the Mediterranean landscape instigated the creation of the portfolio Nice et la Côte d'Azur, for which Charles Sorlier contributed lithographic interpretations of these wonderful gouaches in 1967. They are some of Chagall’s most celebrated works. Jean Adhémar once discussed Chagall’s original gouaches of the Nice et la Côte d’Azur Suite stating, “It is well known, and especially evident in this work, that the Mediterranean awakens in Chagall a sensation of well-being and plenitude just as the bright sun and flowers awaken in him a sense of freedom. The same feelings are to be found in the works of the most remarkable of those Russians who lived on the Coast during the 19th century. This was notably the case with Chekhov who, while at Nice in 1897-1898, was also filled with wonder by the sea and flowers, by that “tender and moving” sea, by those “extraordinary” flowers which “in an incredible mass, inundate the steps” (Correspondence, 1st October and 14th December 1897). In these lithographs, one rediscovers the characters dear to Chagall: the lovers in the firmament, the men whom Malaparte saw walking on “the roof of the storm, on the guttering of clouds,” the woman with flowers, and the Sirene, the most poignant symbol of Nice. There are also visions and memories from his childhood in Vitebsk, which he called the “invisible, supposedly illogical form of the object,” and which we come to perceive as he did. Above all, the midday sun and the brilliancy of his flowers stand out. They explain the richness of tones in these lithographs - the beauty and harmony of the colors - the deep blue, the somber vividness of the reds, the haunting garland of flowers.

Creation Year:

1967

Dimensions:

Height: 38 in (96.52 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph,Paper

Movement & Style:

Modern

After:

Marc Chagall (1887 - 1985, French)

Period:

20th Century