| Title: |
Visions of Paris (Visions de Paris) |
| Artist: |
Chagall, Marc (Vitebsk, Russia, 1887 - St. Paul-De-Vence,
France, 1985) |
| Date: |
1952 |
| Medium: |
Original Lithograph |
| Publisher: |
Verve, Paris |
| Printer: |
Fernand Mourlot, Paris |
| Note: |
Marc Chagall: The name of Marc Chagall requires
little introduction for, along with Picasso, Matisse and Miro, he stands
at the summit of twentieth century art. More than any artist of any time,
Chagall was the master interpreter of dreams and allegories. These he delineated
with an astonishing innocence and purity and -- as his long, productive
career advanced -- he turned mostly towards original lithography as his
most favoured vehicle of artistic expression. |
| |
Born into a poor family in Russian Vitebsk, Marc Chagall first
began to paint in 1907. He attended an art school in St. Petersburg for
several years before leaving for Paris in 1910 to study under the famous
stage designer, Leon Bakst. His first major exhibition of art took place
in Berlin in 1914 and had an immediate influence upon the course of contemporary
German Expressionism. Marc Chagall was forced to return to Russia during the
First World War but returned to permanently live in the Paris suburb of
Vence in 1931. With the exception of the occupation of Paris in World War
Two, Chagall resided in Vence for the rest of his life. |
| |
Marc Chagall executed his first important series of prints
in 1922. Commissioned mainly by Vollard his early graphic art was almost
exclusively in the medium of etching. Marc Chagall was introduced in 1948 to
original lithography by Fernand Mourlot, owner of one of the world's great
lithography workshops. During the following thirty-five years over one thousand
original lithographs were created by his hand. These amazing and vibrant
works of art place Marc Chagall as perhaps the greatest lithographer of modern
art. |
| |
Marc Chagall's earliest lithographs were created in black and white.
In 1952 he attempted his first lithographs in colours; three compositions
for the lithographic set, Visions de Paris and a single lithograph
entitled, Bonjour sur Paris. Vision de Paris hails from
the Visions de Paris set. Intended as the centre piece for the
set it is twice the size of the other six lithographs. |
| |
Consisting of three colour and four black and white lithographs
Visions de Paris marks an important cornerstone in Marc Chagall's career.
Executed shortly after the end of the Second World War, these lithographs
commemorate both Chagall's return to his beloved city and the resumption
of peace. Many of the famous images and symbols which are now synonymous
with Chagall's art are introduced here. Most important, however, is his
rich and textured introduction of colours. These most important prints thus
set the stage for the famous colour lithographs the artist created from
1952 to 1985. |
| |
The seven original lithographs for Visions de Paris
were commissioned by the Paris publisher, Verve, and were bound
into their 1952 double number volume on pages 127 to 134. (At the same time
these lithographs were individually issued in a small, pencil signed edition
of 75 impressions.) Both sides of the sturdy, wove paper were used for printing
and therefore a black and white lithograph appears on the verso of this
original colour lithograph. |
| |
As the large Vision de Paris was printed on a double
sheet of paper it contains two black and white Chagall lithographs on the
verso. One image depicts the Arc de Triumph while the other is a fantasy
scene portraying recumbent lovers in front of the Paris Obelisk. As Vision
de Paris is a double page lithograph it contains the vertical fold
and slight pin prick holes for binding. With its lush colours and rich imagery
it is undoubtedly one of Marc Chagall's most important early colour lithographs. |
| |
Verve: From 1937 to 1960 Verve was
a leader for promoting modern movements in art. Printed and published in
Paris, this periodical contained major articles on and by leading contemporary
artists. More importantly, each issue contained at least one original print
created specifically for the publication. |
| |
Some of the most sought after original lithographs of the
twentieth century appeared in 1952 double number (#27 & 28) of Verve.
These included Marc Chagall's complete Visions de Paris set, Henri
Matisse's, The Sadness of the King, Leger's, The Outing,
Miro's, The Dog Barking at the Moon and original lithographs in
both colours and black and white by Andre Masson, Georges Braque, Henri
Laurens, Alberto Giacometti, Francisco Bores and Marcel Gromaire. Original works of art printed by Verve never appeared
in pencil signed and limited editions, but most were published in numbers
of two thousand five hundred or less. |
| Raisonne: |
Fernand Mourlot, ed., Chagall Lithographie (1922-1957),
Paris, Andre Sauret, 1960. |
| |
Mourlot #82, Second and final Edition as issued by Verve in
December, 1952. |
| Size: |
14 X 20 7/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
| |
Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
| Condition: |
Printed upon thick, wove paper and with full margins as published
in Paris for Verve in 1952. Containing the vertical fold and very
faint binding holes along the fold, as usual. A fine, full colour impression
and in excellent condition throughout. This original lithograph represents
a most important example of the art of Marc Chagall. |
| Price: |
Sold - The price is no longer available. |
| Important Information: |
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