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Lot Essay
The present gouache of a siren floating above a mediterranean coast line was executed during some of Chagall's happiest years in the south of France after the war. He had just completed his celebrated lithographic series of "Daphnis and Chloe", which, when published in 1961, brought him great success. He received several honorary degrees and prizes in 1960 and started work on his first stained-glass window for the Cathedral of Metz.
Sirène au pin was such a popular image at the time, that Chagall used it later in 1962 as the subject for the well-known poster Nice, commissioned by the French Tourist Office to promote Nice and the Côte d'Azur.
In Sirène au pin Chagall achieves a unity of image and form. With its striking colours, especially the vibrant blues, and the inviting pose of the siren, painting for Chagall becomes an action in which the observer participates, entering into its space, and joining in its movement .
Sirène au pin was such a popular image at the time, that Chagall used it later in 1962 as the subject for the well-known poster Nice, commissioned by the French Tourist Office to promote Nice and the Côte d'Azur.
In Sirène au pin Chagall achieves a unity of image and form. With its striking colours, especially the vibrant blues, and the inviting pose of the siren, painting for Chagall becomes an action in which the observer participates, entering into its space, and joining in its movement .