Lot Essay
This celebrated composition of Chagall floating above the town of Vitebsk holding Bella in his arms was one which Chagall executed in five different versions between 1915 and 1925. He first conceived Au-dessus de la Ville as a tribute to his wife, Bella Rosenfeld, shortly before their marriage on 25 July 1915.
During their courting years, many of Chagall's paintings were inspired by their relationship. Amongst the finest oils of the period is L'Anniversaire of 1915 now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Generally considered a precursor to his Au- dessus de la Ville series, Bella described the mood in which Chagall executed these paintings: "You fling yourself upon the canvas so that it quakes under your hand...You snatch the brushes and squeeze out the paint...You drag me into the stream of colours...suddenly you lift me off the ground...You leap, stretch out at full length and fly up to the ceiling...I can even hear the song in your eyes. And together we rise up easy as can be to the ceiling of the gaily decked room and fly away, hand in hand...We fly over fields of flowers and timber houses with closed shutters, over fields and churches." (F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, New York, p. 237)
The first version of Au-dessus de la Ville, previously in the collection of the Russian emigré Kagan-Chabchay, was sold at Christie's New York on 15 May 1990 for $9,900,000 (lot 44, illustrated). Aside from this oil four other versions of the subject are known to exist; a large format oil is housed in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Meyer 303), an oil of 1919 is in a private collection in Europe, and the last, a gouache, is offered here.
Sold with a photo-certificate from the Comité Chagall.
During their courting years, many of Chagall's paintings were inspired by their relationship. Amongst the finest oils of the period is L'Anniversaire of 1915 now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Generally considered a precursor to his Au- dessus de la Ville series, Bella described the mood in which Chagall executed these paintings: "You fling yourself upon the canvas so that it quakes under your hand...You snatch the brushes and squeeze out the paint...You drag me into the stream of colours...suddenly you lift me off the ground...You leap, stretch out at full length and fly up to the ceiling...I can even hear the song in your eyes. And together we rise up easy as can be to the ceiling of the gaily decked room and fly away, hand in hand...We fly over fields of flowers and timber houses with closed shutters, over fields and churches." (F. Meyer, Marc Chagall, New York, p. 237)
The first version of Au-dessus de la Ville, previously in the collection of the Russian emigré Kagan-Chabchay, was sold at Christie's New York on 15 May 1990 for $9,900,000 (lot 44, illustrated). Aside from this oil four other versions of the subject are known to exist; a large format oil is housed in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Meyer 303), an oil of 1919 is in a private collection in Europe, and the last, a gouache, is offered here.
Sold with a photo-certificate from the Comité Chagall.