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Lot Essay
The vase of flowers is a perennial theme in Chagall's art and was first explored by the artist in the early 1920's as a romantic extension to the symbolic vocabulary of his paintings depicting the artist with his beloved wife Bella. Because of the marvellous opportunities they allowed him to express his love and mastery of colour, flowers remained a constant theme in his art.
Temporarily arranged in a vase, the traditional gift from a man to a woman, the vase of flowers is often used by Chagall as a symbol of the impermanence, as well as the ecstasy, of human love. Flowers though beautiful in the present moment, will inevitably decay.
In La Nappe Mauve, Chagall has set the image of a cow and a woman amongst the bouquet, as well as a sickle moon hanging low in the sky. All three images repeat each other in their symbolism, the cow being a favorite motif of Chagall's and an ancient symbol of both woman and the moon. For Chagall these symbols are regular motifs of his art, of which he has observed, "One should not start with these symbols but arrive at them" (as quoted in F. Meyer, Marc Chagall: Life and Work, Abrams, New York 1961, p. 138).
Undoubtedly, Chagall's chief concern in La Nappe Mauve has been with colour. Revelling in the dramatic contrasts between the red and green of the bouquet and the ultramarine blue of the night sky, these are ultimately complemented and given unity by the purple tablecloth from which the painting takes its name.
Temporarily arranged in a vase, the traditional gift from a man to a woman, the vase of flowers is often used by Chagall as a symbol of the impermanence, as well as the ecstasy, of human love. Flowers though beautiful in the present moment, will inevitably decay.
In La Nappe Mauve, Chagall has set the image of a cow and a woman amongst the bouquet, as well as a sickle moon hanging low in the sky. All three images repeat each other in their symbolism, the cow being a favorite motif of Chagall's and an ancient symbol of both woman and the moon. For Chagall these symbols are regular motifs of his art, of which he has observed, "One should not start with these symbols but arrive at them" (as quoted in F. Meyer, Marc Chagall: Life and Work, Abrams, New York 1961, p. 138).
Undoubtedly, Chagall's chief concern in La Nappe Mauve has been with colour. Revelling in the dramatic contrasts between the red and green of the bouquet and the ultramarine blue of the night sky, these are ultimately complemented and given unity by the purple tablecloth from which the painting takes its name.