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Lot Essay
In 1965 Sir Rudolf Bing, director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, commissioned Chagall to design sets and costumes for a production of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute that would inaugurate the company's new theatre at Lincoln Center. Chagall's sense of fantasy was well suited to the mixture of allegory and humor in Mozart's final and most beloved opera, and the artist's celebrity in New York made him an ideal choice for this project.
It occurred to Sir Rudolf that the artist might also be persuaded to undertake the design for two massive decorations that would adorn the new building and be visible through the glass exterior to the outside. Chagall accepted Bing's offer, and the compositions for the opera house murals grew out of his designs for The Magic Flute. At one point Chagall considered making Mozart the primary subject of the murals, but then decided on a more general overview of the history of music.
The present work depicts the lovers Tamino and Pamina, elongated and flutelike, on the right side. The hapless bird-catcher Papageno is at the lower left with his pan-pipes.
It occurred to Sir Rudolf that the artist might also be persuaded to undertake the design for two massive decorations that would adorn the new building and be visible through the glass exterior to the outside. Chagall accepted Bing's offer, and the compositions for the opera house murals grew out of his designs for The Magic Flute. At one point Chagall considered making Mozart the primary subject of the murals, but then decided on a more general overview of the history of music.
The present work depicts the lovers Tamino and Pamina, elongated and flutelike, on the right side. The hapless bird-catcher Papageno is at the lower left with his pan-pipes.