Marc Chagall

Herwarth & Nell Walden, Berlin (acquired from the artist)
Nell Walden, Bern
Private Collection, Mexico
Private Collection

Berlin, Galerie Der Sturm (Herwarth Walden), Chagall and Otokar Kubin, 1914
Bern, Kunstmuseum, Gemälde und Zeichnungen alter Meister. Kunsthandwerk aus Privatbesitz. Der Sturm, Sammlung Nell Walden aus den Jahren 1912-1920, 1944-45, no. 250 (titled Mann baut ein Haus)
Zurich, Kunsthaus, Sammlungen Nell Walden und Dr Othmar Huber: Expressionisten, Kubisten, 1945, no. 24 (titled Mann baut ein Haus)

Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall, Life and Work, New York, 1961, no. 113, illustrated

Executed on cream laid paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount in the top two corners. There is a pencil sketch of a female figure on the verso, and artist's pinholes in the corners. Apart from some time staining to the sheet, and a few tiny supported tears at the edges (not visible when mounted), this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate, although slightly fresher in the original.
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Les Charpentiers is a rare example of Chagall's early work, executed during his first sojourn to Paris (1910-14). This was a crucial moment in the artist's creative development, when the tradition of his provincial Russian background was confronted by the modernity and cosmopolitanism of the metropolis. Remarkable, though, is Chagall's adherence to the cultural values of his native Vitebsk, rich in folkloric imagery and the integrity of humble existence. In the present work he delights in portraying the human condition: the carpenters go about their work harmoniously, their rhythm being analogous to that of the painter. Without doubt, the subject matter offered Chagall both a sense of identification, and the means to transcend the drudgery of real life.

 

The present work is imbued with a powerful pictorial quality. Chagall's use of simple forms, bold contours and unmodulated colours adds a lyricism to the work that distinguishes it from those of his Parisian contemporaries. It is precisely this poetic dimension that would characterise the later works as his imagery became all the more dreamlike and chimerical. Susan Compton has highlighted Chagall's unique vision, noting that 'he can be singled out as the artist who has brought to the fore again the riches of a cultural heritage that was in danger of being overtaken by lesser heroes in an age of popular images' (S. Compton, Chagall (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1985, p. 13).