Nu rose et coq ailé orange au village sur fond bleu

The central characters in many of Chagall's paintings are lovers or newlyweds caught up in the early excitement of passion, who have abandoned themselves to love, and have completely surrendered themselves unto each other. For Chagall and his first wife Bella, who met in Chagall’s home town of Vitebsk in Belarus before marrying in 1915 and living together for almost three decades, this experience of love took a shared intensity that appeared to never falter or fade. Bella's death in 1944 from a viral infection remained, for Chagall, a casualty of the War and his adoration for Bella grew even greater as he continued to celebrate her impact on his life in many paintings.

Awash with evocative motifs and saturated colours, Nu rose et coq ailé orange au village sur fond bleu pays tribute to the past and present simultaneously, depicting an intimate moment between lovers that reminisces of the artist’s most enduring memories. This dream-like vision is set within the artist’s home town of Vitebsk many years after his departure, enhanced in its sur-reality by the winged rooster and the floating donkey, harking back to the folkloric visions of the happy, simple, life of his youth. A dreamscape, with the moon as the only source of light, it presents a surreal reminiscence, combining the past and the present together in the artist’s inner world, preserving his love eternally.