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拍品專文
Executed circa 1911, Nu assis is one of a series of outstanding gouaches that Chagall painted in his small studio in the Impasse du Maine in Paris shortly before he moved into his larger studio in the artists' settlement known as "La Ruche" in the winter of 1911-12.
Widely regarded as among the most important of Chagall's early works, this series of gouaches not only served as the models for many of his oil paintings from the period but are also among the first of his works to reflect the influence of Cubism.
Having first arrived in Paris on a scholarship granted him by Max Vinaver in the autumn of 1910 Chagall was homesick and unhappy for most of his first year in Paris. He was however, immediately inspired and encouraged by the excting developments of the Parisian avant-garde and in particular singled out the work of Monet, Czanne and Delaunay for special praise. By 1911 he had become well immersed in the artistic and bohemian life of Paris and was close friends with, among others, Apollinaire, Max Jacob and Blaise Cendrars. Quickly absorbing the flavour of the Parisian avant-garde, Chagall never succumbed entirely to his new influences but produced an art that was characterised by his own unique blend of style and approach.
Nu assis is a prime example of this important characteristic of Chagall's early work. The directness of his approach and the seemingly crude way in which he renders his images reflects his Russian heritage and the similarity of his forms to the folk art style of his native Vitebsk as well as something of the deliberately naive neo-primitive work of his fellow countryman Mikhail Larionov. The cut-off composition and the use of a painted frame reflects the japanisme so popular in the avant-garde art of the fin-de sicle while the angular forms and sharp geometric diagonals of light and shade reflect Chagall's experience of Cubism - in particular his love of Delaunay's work which would come to play an increasingly important role for Chagall in the following year. Painted with a charming combination of large sweeping brushstrokes and small meticulously crafted details, Nu assis is a jewel of a work that in its colour, character, and subject matter signifies Chagall's maturity as an artist as well as displaying all the qualities of a modernist Russian icon.
Widely regarded as among the most important of Chagall's early works, this series of gouaches not only served as the models for many of his oil paintings from the period but are also among the first of his works to reflect the influence of Cubism.
Having first arrived in Paris on a scholarship granted him by Max Vinaver in the autumn of 1910 Chagall was homesick and unhappy for most of his first year in Paris. He was however, immediately inspired and encouraged by the excting developments of the Parisian avant-garde and in particular singled out the work of Monet, Czanne and Delaunay for special praise. By 1911 he had become well immersed in the artistic and bohemian life of Paris and was close friends with, among others, Apollinaire, Max Jacob and Blaise Cendrars. Quickly absorbing the flavour of the Parisian avant-garde, Chagall never succumbed entirely to his new influences but produced an art that was characterised by his own unique blend of style and approach.
Nu assis is a prime example of this important characteristic of Chagall's early work. The directness of his approach and the seemingly crude way in which he renders his images reflects his Russian heritage and the similarity of his forms to the folk art style of his native Vitebsk as well as something of the deliberately naive neo-primitive work of his fellow countryman Mikhail Larionov. The cut-off composition and the use of a painted frame reflects the japanisme so popular in the avant-garde art of the fin-de sicle while the angular forms and sharp geometric diagonals of light and shade reflect Chagall's experience of Cubism - in particular his love of Delaunay's work which would come to play an increasingly important role for Chagall in the following year. Painted with a charming combination of large sweeping brushstrokes and small meticulously crafted details, Nu assis is a jewel of a work that in its colour, character, and subject matter signifies Chagall's maturity as an artist as well as displaying all the qualities of a modernist Russian icon.