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Lot Essay
Arturo Schwarz , described the present lot in his recent Ardon monograph: "Sur le champ d'honneur (on the field of honour), 1980, belongs to the series of paintings which reflect Ardon's pacifist and internationalist outlook and in which he gives free reign to his corrosive criticism of the warmonger's spirit. His point of view is apparent from the ironic title, Sur le champ d'honneur, "battlefield" in French, but literally, "On the Field of Honor". Nevertheless, the concern and compassion for the innocent dead does overcomes the irony that is implicit in the title. As further evidence of "synchronicity", let us recall that a year before the completion of this work, a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt was finally signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar al-Sadat."
"Under a tormented sky, occupied almost entirely by a foreboding black cloud interspersed with blood red, violet, white, yellow, and blue patches, a chessboard stands at the right hand bottom corner, its white and black chess pieces tumbled in disarray. It would have been hard to find a more eloquent metaphor for the battlefield and the victims. The chessboard is a traditional symbol for the battleground and, because of its alternating black and white squares- which stand for the succession of days and nights - it is also an image of life and its vicissitudes. But contrary to the tradition of a chessboard as a battlefield in which one of the two opponents must succumb, here is a Jewish chessboard which reflects the sacredness of life, as well as the Talmudic ethical command: "if a person saves one life, it is as if he has saved the whole world."
"The colour of the chessmen, as well as their positions, are also highly significant. The contrasting colours - black and white - denote the two opponents. The fact that they have all fallen off the chessboard (died) and lie intermingled on the ground, points to the fact that, in death, all differences are abolished. Reducing the opponents to mere pawns also underscores the fact that they were all involved in a higher game, in which instead of being its actors, they were merely its subject". (A. Schwarz, Mordecai Ardon, The Colors of Time, Tel Aviv, 2003, p.46).
"Under a tormented sky, occupied almost entirely by a foreboding black cloud interspersed with blood red, violet, white, yellow, and blue patches, a chessboard stands at the right hand bottom corner, its white and black chess pieces tumbled in disarray. It would have been hard to find a more eloquent metaphor for the battlefield and the victims. The chessboard is a traditional symbol for the battleground and, because of its alternating black and white squares- which stand for the succession of days and nights - it is also an image of life and its vicissitudes. But contrary to the tradition of a chessboard as a battlefield in which one of the two opponents must succumb, here is a Jewish chessboard which reflects the sacredness of life, as well as the Talmudic ethical command: "if a person saves one life, it is as if he has saved the whole world."
"The colour of the chessmen, as well as their positions, are also highly significant. The contrasting colours - black and white - denote the two opponents. The fact that they have all fallen off the chessboard (died) and lie intermingled on the ground, points to the fact that, in death, all differences are abolished. Reducing the opponents to mere pawns also underscores the fact that they were all involved in a higher game, in which instead of being its actors, they were merely its subject". (A. Schwarz, Mordecai Ardon, The Colors of Time, Tel Aviv, 2003, p.46).