Marc Chagall

Madame de Croix, Paris

Private Collection, London (sold: Sotheby's, London, March 30, 1977, lot 126)

Private Collection, Tokyo (acquired at the above sale)

Private Collection

Very good condition. The sheet is affixed to the artist's mount around the edges and undulates gently in the unaffixed, central area. The sheet itself is slightly time-stained, and there are a few spots of discoloration along the top edges near the corners, persumably due to the glue on the reverse edges. The left edge of the sheet appears to have been unevenly trimmed by the artist, and their is a 1cm repaired tear along that left edge. The artist's pinholes are visible in the four corners. The pigments are vivid and in very good condition.
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.

This beautifully-worked rendering of Paris' best-known landmark is among the rare, mixed-media compositions that Chagall completed upon his arrival to Paris in 1910.  Carefully executed and with exacting attention to the details of Gustave Eiffel's tower, the composition captures Chagall's initial awe and revelry upon moving to the city of lights.   As a newcomer to France, Chagall creates a composition is explicitly patriot, using a palette of blues, white and red that evoke the nation's flag.  "I came to Paris as though driven by destiny," he would later recall.  "Words that came from my heart flowed into my mouth. They almost suffocated me, I stammered. I came with thoughts and dreams such as one can only have when one is twenty."

On the second day after his arriving in Paris, Chagall visited the Salon des Indépendants.  This was his first encounter with the works of the Fauves and the Cubists, and the experience ignited his curiosity about the avant-garde art scene in the city. Chagall soon moved into his lodgings in the legendary block of studios known as La Ruche in Montparnasse, a building renowned for its cosmopolitan and Bohemian atmosphere. Chagall's room was next to the one occupied by Modigliani, and the poets Guillaume Apollinaire, and Blaise Cendrars were frequent visitors to the house.  It was in this atmosphere, charged with a creative passion for innovation, that Chagall at once started to paint.  The present composition was completed amidst the excitement of his newfound inspiration.