MARC CHAGALL | Cirque (M. 490-527; C. BKS. 68)

The complete portfolio, comprising 38 lithographs, 23 printed in colours, 1967, the colours fresh, signed in pencil on the justification, this copy numbered 134 from the edition of 250, with the title-page and text, published by Editions Verve, Paris, on Arches wove paper, loose (as issued), contained in the original paper wrapper, cloth-covered boards and slipcase, with the gold printed title and artist's name on the spine

With full margins, the colours fresh, each in good condition, some discoloration and slight offsetting associated with storage within the portfolio case, some sheets with slight handling marks, pages 77 and 80 with scattered foxing (none affecting the images), a few further stray fox marks, the slipcase and boards with a few unobtrusive scuff marks.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Marc Chagall’s fascination with the circus began at a young age, when travelling acrobats, dancers and musicians visited his hometown of Vitebsk in pre-revolutionary Russia. In his later years in Paris, the artist regularly attended the Cirque d'Hiver with the art dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard. Vollard encouraged the pastime in the hope that Chagall would be inspired to create an illustrated book on the subject.
Though following Vollard's suggestion the artist completed a series of gouache studies on the theme of the circus in the late 1920s, several decades passed before he completed the book, which was ultimately published by Editions Tériade in 1967. 'The result', Chagall's master printer and collaborator, Charles Sorlier describes, is 'an outstanding set of plates.' Indeed, the subject of the circus complied perfectly with the great modernist’s most celebrated traits—in these images Chagall’s brushwork is uncontrived, his colouring vibrant, and his imagery whimsical, singular and exuberant.