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Lot Essay
Painted between 1942 and 1949, Marc Chagall’s L’Accordéoniste dans le bec ou Ciel d’hiver speaks to the emotional unrest that the artist experienced during the wartime period and its immediate aftermath. This was a tumultuous period for Chagall who, along with his wife, Bella, decided to leave Europe in 1941 for the United States. Though his reputation preceded him – the couple was met on the dock by Pierre Matisse, the artist’s son and an eminent dealer – Chagall was wary of his new home and spoke little English. While he spent his days visiting museums and socialising with other exiles, Europe was never far from his thoughts and he feared what was befalling friends and family who still remained on the continent. Engulfed in memories, L’Accordéoniste dans le bec is a paean to Chagall’s disquiet.
Figures and animals cavort across the wintery landscape of L’Accordéoniste dans le bec, their vivid hues a visual rejoinder to the snowy world. In the background, a town – Chagall’s native Vitebsk – is visible, its rooftops dusted with frost. Chagall depicted animals of various sizes, including a rooster whose head improbably looms over everything. The bird dominates the nocturnal scene and was not only a familiar presence within the artist's visual bestiary – often used as a symbol of fidelity – but also an emblem of the French Republic, Chagall’s beloved adopted home. The other figures that populate the painting, too, were drawn from the artist’s unique and highly personal iconography. The titular accordion player conjures images of the musicians of Vitebsk who would have played at religious celebrations and other festivities. For Chagall, music held an almost spiritual position in his life, with violinists and fiddlers frequently appearing across his oeuvre. The inclusion here, alongside the other images of Vitebsk, speaks to the way the artist blended memory, folklore, and religious symbolism within his practice.
This was a period of upheaval for Chagall: three years after moving to the United States, his wife became sick and passed away on 2 September 1944. Chagall was bereft, and for only the second time in his life, found himself unable to paint. Nine months later, Virginia Haggard McNeil entered the artist’s life as his housekeeper. Although still mourning the loss of his wife, Chagall found an unexpected partner in McNeil, and their son David was born in June 1946. Two years later, in 1948, they, along with McNeil’s daughter Jean, moved to France. Although excited to be back in France, Chagall was wracked with sadness, owing to both the loss of Bella, as well as his fears for those, including his sisters, trapped in Soviet Russia. Such change is suggested by the fantastical almost vertiginous perspective of L’Accordéoniste dans le bec. The figures and planes overlap in impossible configurations, a visual clamour that speaks to a life undergoing great transformation.
An archival photograph taken in1942 reveals Chagall’s initial intentions for the painting. In this earlier state, the figures’ appear more melancholic and apprehensive, mirroring the political climate and Chagall’s own experiences as an emigré in New York. At a certain point, he covered these details with thick paint before returning to the composition likely after his return to France.
The Chagalls sought refuge in the South of France where, in 1949, they spent four months on the Côte d'Azur, visiting with Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and the dealer Aimé Maeght and his wife Marguerite, among others. The idyllic landscape would prove the ideal remedy for Chagall, whose imagery, as a result, became lighter and more hopeful. In L’Accordéoniste dans le bec, for example, the bridal couple shown on the righthand side replaced a mother cradling her infant child. The alterations to the painting speak to Chagall’s evolving outlook as he began to envision new possibilities for his life.
Figures and animals cavort across the wintery landscape of L’Accordéoniste dans le bec, their vivid hues a visual rejoinder to the snowy world. In the background, a town – Chagall’s native Vitebsk – is visible, its rooftops dusted with frost. Chagall depicted animals of various sizes, including a rooster whose head improbably looms over everything. The bird dominates the nocturnal scene and was not only a familiar presence within the artist's visual bestiary – often used as a symbol of fidelity – but also an emblem of the French Republic, Chagall’s beloved adopted home. The other figures that populate the painting, too, were drawn from the artist’s unique and highly personal iconography. The titular accordion player conjures images of the musicians of Vitebsk who would have played at religious celebrations and other festivities. For Chagall, music held an almost spiritual position in his life, with violinists and fiddlers frequently appearing across his oeuvre. The inclusion here, alongside the other images of Vitebsk, speaks to the way the artist blended memory, folklore, and religious symbolism within his practice.
This was a period of upheaval for Chagall: three years after moving to the United States, his wife became sick and passed away on 2 September 1944. Chagall was bereft, and for only the second time in his life, found himself unable to paint. Nine months later, Virginia Haggard McNeil entered the artist’s life as his housekeeper. Although still mourning the loss of his wife, Chagall found an unexpected partner in McNeil, and their son David was born in June 1946. Two years later, in 1948, they, along with McNeil’s daughter Jean, moved to France. Although excited to be back in France, Chagall was wracked with sadness, owing to both the loss of Bella, as well as his fears for those, including his sisters, trapped in Soviet Russia. Such change is suggested by the fantastical almost vertiginous perspective of L’Accordéoniste dans le bec. The figures and planes overlap in impossible configurations, a visual clamour that speaks to a life undergoing great transformation.
An archival photograph taken in1942 reveals Chagall’s initial intentions for the painting. In this earlier state, the figures’ appear more melancholic and apprehensive, mirroring the political climate and Chagall’s own experiences as an emigré in New York. At a certain point, he covered these details with thick paint before returning to the composition likely after his return to France.
The Chagalls sought refuge in the South of France where, in 1949, they spent four months on the Côte d'Azur, visiting with Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and the dealer Aimé Maeght and his wife Marguerite, among others. The idyllic landscape would prove the ideal remedy for Chagall, whose imagery, as a result, became lighter and more hopeful. In L’Accordéoniste dans le bec, for example, the bridal couple shown on the righthand side replaced a mother cradling her infant child. The alterations to the painting speak to Chagall’s evolving outlook as he began to envision new possibilities for his life.