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Lot Essay
This work is sold with a photo-certificate from David McNeil.
The view of Chagall's hometown Vitebsk in the background, recognisable by its trio of the orthodox church, the synagogue and the Polish-Catholic church, is a recurring motif in Chagall's oeuvre. Chagall probably drew this rural scene of two woodcutters strolling along the Dvina river towards the town, during one of his trips to Vitebsk whilst he was studying in St. Petersburg. It highlights the contrast between the peaceful countryside with muddy paths and the busy urban life in Vitebsk on the other side of the river.
V. Rakitin suggested a link in composition and theme with Natalia Gontcharova's contemporary cycle dedicated to peasant life, as well as with the narrative icons which Chagall would have seen at the Museum Alexander III in St Petersburg.
The view of Chagall's hometown Vitebsk in the background, recognisable by its trio of the orthodox church, the synagogue and the Polish-Catholic church, is a recurring motif in Chagall's oeuvre. Chagall probably drew this rural scene of two woodcutters strolling along the Dvina river towards the town, during one of his trips to Vitebsk whilst he was studying in St. Petersburg. It highlights the contrast between the peaceful countryside with muddy paths and the busy urban life in Vitebsk on the other side of the river.
V. Rakitin suggested a link in composition and theme with Natalia Gontcharova's contemporary cycle dedicated to peasant life, as well as with the narrative icons which Chagall would have seen at the Museum Alexander III in St Petersburg.