MARC CHAGALL | La Fête du peintre

Sale: Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, 15th June 2012, lot 25
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on plum wove paper, not laid down and hinged to the backing board in two places at the left side of the sheet. The upper and left edges are unevenly cut. There is a loss to the upper left corner (possibly original to the sheet) and a small nick to the lower part of the left edge. The colours are fresh and this work is in overall 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Executed in 1978, La Fête du peintre is a quintessential example of Chagall's mastery in assembling an array of personal and folkloric images in a rich and colour-filled composition. This work contains several crucial elements of the artist's pictorial iconography, including roosters, flowers, goats and celestial beings. Evoking the village of his childhood home in Russia as well as the Mediterranean coastal towns in the south of France, this work is Chagall’s celebration incarnate of his vivid imagination. Numerous self-portraits, seemingly from different eras in Chagall’s life intermingle revelling in his creative process. The journalist Alexander Liberman eloquently described the intricacy of Chagall's later works such as La Fête du peintre: ‘Like a human being, a Chagall painting reveals its rich complexity only if one has lived with it and in it, in the way the artist has during its creation. One must look at his paintings closely to experience their full power. After the impact of the overall effect, there is the joy of the close-up discovery. In this intimate scrutiny, the slightest variation takes on immense importance. We cannot concentrate for a long time; our senses tire quickly and we need, after moments of intense stimulation, periods of rest. Chagall understands this visual secret better than most painters; he draws our interest into a corner where minute details hold it, and when we tire of that, we rest, floating in a space of color, until the eye lands on a new small island of quivering life’ (Alexander Liberman, "The Artist in His Studio," 1958, reprinted in Jacob Baal-Teshuva, Chagall: A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), New York, 1995, p. 337).



The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Comité Chagall.