Flowers in the Moonlight:
The Dreams of Marc Chagall
Russian-French artist Marc Chagall imbued his work with lyricism and poetry. His paintings, infused with the sweetness of love and the fragrance of fresh flowers, offer an array of incredible dreamworlds. Despite the series of wars that took place in the first half of the 20th century, Chagall’s work retained an unblemished purity and beauty, dissolving horrific realities with his innocent visions. His works frequently offer a sense of warmth and comfort, which is beautifully demonstrated by Les pivoines (Lot 1025), painted in 1969.
When he painted Les pivoines, Marc Chagall was already an acclaimed master. Even though he was in his 80s, he was still very energetic. The brushwork asserts an extraordinary confidence, whilst the imagery preserves its delicacy and emotion. When standing before a canvas, Chagall was always faithful to his younger self, and Les pivoines contains some of the classic elements that have appeared in his paintings since the 1920s, including a pair of embracing lovers rising into the sky, a violinist playing in mid-air, a solitary flying bird, a faintly visible village scene, and a disproportionately large cluster of flowers. Under a sapphire blue sky speckled with stars, Chagall invites the viewer into an eternal, romantic dreamworld. Love permeates every inch of the composition. As Chagall once said,
“Despite all the troubles in our world and my heart, I have never given up on man’s hope in love, or the love which I was brought up on. In life, just as on the artist’s palette, there is but a single colour that gives meaning to life and art – the colour of love.”
When peonies bloom, they are splendid as brocade. Interspersed among red buds and blooms are a few snow-white and pale-yellow flowers, conveying the abundance of liveliness and well-wishes. In expressing his emotions with flowers, Chagall fully extolls life. For more than a still-life painting, this work has a moving, deeper meaning. Art historian Susan Compton wrote,
“The conjunction is one that particularly appealed to Chagall, a bouquet of flowers being the archetypal gift for a lover to bring. Yet cut flowers are ephemeral: through man’s artifice their beauty is arranged momentarily. So in these themes the artist reminds us of the impermanence as well as the ecstasy of human love.”
When he was painting this work, Chagall and his second wife Valentina Brodsky were living in southern France, and the profusion of blooming flowers in the painting embodies the abundance in the artist’s life. In the upper left corner of the painting, a pair of lovers dressed in white hover in mid-air, symbolising Bella Rosenfeld, his first wife and muse of 30 years. Bella died suddenly towards the end of World War II, and Chagall spent many of the years that followed working through his grief in his paintings. Through bouquets of fresh flowers and lovers, he honours the memory of Bella. In these illusory wonderlands, he would transform suffering and longing into creative power.
"I only had to open my bedroom window, and blue air, love, and flowers entered with her. Dressed in all black or white, she has been flying over my canvases guiding my art."
Behind the vase of flowers in Les pivoines, a town slumbers peacefully under a starry sky. Chagall may have drawn this scene from Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the town on the Côte d'Azur where he lived at the t.mes . The gorgeous landscape of southern France offered an endless source of inspiration. The cluster of small houses signifies an easy, comfortable life. However, Chagall never painted realistically; the town in this painting also represents his hometown of Vitebsk, a place for which he spent half his life longing. The violinist in the upper left corner is a symbol that Chagall used in many of his works to pay homage to Russian folk customs. While the work is a tribute to romantic love, it also demonstrates Chagall’s extraordinary love and affection for his hometown.
The original collects or purchased this work from Galerie Maeght in Paris in 1975. The painting was passed down within the collects or’s family over the years, but it was never shown publicly. The work offered here at Replica Shoes ’s is romantic and poetic, bringing the viewer into one of Chagall’s beautiful dreams.
- Violinist 小提琴家
The violinist in the upper left corner is a symbol that Chagall used in many of his works to pay homage to Russian folk customs.
左上角的小提琴家是夏加爾在其作品中反覆用以致敬俄羅斯民俗的象徵之一。
- Embracing lovers 相擁的戀人
A pair of lovers dressed in white hover in mid-air, symbolising Bella Rosenfeld, his first wife and muse of 30 years. Bella died suddenly towards the end of World War II, and Chagall spent many of the years that followed working through his grief in his paintings.
一對白紗戀人於半空相偎，象徵著與之共度三十載的髮妻與繆斯貝拉。貝拉在二戰之後意外早逝，夏加爾多年以來亦憑藉繪畫疏導失去摯愛的悲痛，並以一束束鮮花與戀人的形象，延續對貝拉的牽掛。
- Blooming flowers 綻放花團
When he was painting this work, Chagall and his second wife Valentina Brodsky were living in southern France, and the profusion of blooming flowers in the painting embodies the abundance in the artist’s life.
創作本作之時，夏加爾與第二任妻子華華移居南法，而畫中花團繽紛綻放，正好體現藝術家當時的生活富足。
- Village Scene 城鎮景色
Behind the vase of flowers in Les pivoines, a town slumbers peacefully under a starry sky. Chagall may have drawn this scene from Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the town on the Côte d'Azur where he lived at the t.mes . The gorgeous landscape of southern France offered an endless source of inspiration. The cluster of small houses signifies an easy, comfortable life.
一座鄉郊城市在星夜下安靜沉睡，該場景有可能取自夏加爾其時定居的法國南部蔚藍海岸小鎮聖保羅德旺斯，這裏的明媚風光日夜給予藝術家源源不絕的靈感；小屋成群的形象，亦比喻其安逸舒適的生活。
- Peonies 牡丹
When peonies bloom, they are splendid as brocade. Interspersed among red buds and blooms are a few snow-white and pale-yellow flowers, conveying the abundance of liveliness and well-wishes.
牡丹盛放時繁華似錦，本作中深淺有序的嫣紅花蕾間，偶有數枝純白與鵝黃的花朵含苞待放、互相爭輝，傳遞著豐裕吉祥的美意。
Notable Auction Records
花晨月夕：
夏加爾之芬芳醉夢
俄裔法籍藝術家夏加爾的筆下如詩如歌，其作品總彌漫著戀愛的甜味、散發著鮮花的芬芳、上演著一幕幕不可思議的夢境；在二十世紀上半葉戰亂紛飛的環境下，夏加爾的畫作依然保持一貫一塵不染的純淨與美好，以充滿童趣的想像力化解現實的醜惡，因此作品往往予人溫暖慰藉之感，創於1969年之《牡丹》（拍品編號1025）即爲精緻的典範。
創作本作之時，夏加爾已是廣受追捧的大師級畫家，即使已屆耄耋之年，依然精力力充沛，揮毫落筆自信不凡，畫面則依舊細緻動人；在畫布跟前，夏加爾始終亦忠於那個風華正茂的本我，《牡丹》中盡是藝術家自二〇年代起已開始築構入畫的經典繪畫元素，包括一對騰空相擁的戀人、孤傲的飛鳥、在半空中奏樂的小提琴家、隱約朦朧的村莊景色，以及一尊不符比例地龐大的簇擁花團——在一片寶藍色的星空下，夏加爾邀人走入一場永恆的浪漫夢境，構圖每寸亦滲透愛戀的滋味，呼應其曾所言：
「我對各種困難無所畏懼，因為我的內心始終懷着對人類的愛和守望。在我的生命中，恰如畫家的調色板一樣，有着對人生和藝術唯一的色彩，那就是愛的色彩。」
牡丹盛放時繁華似錦，本作中深淺有序的嫣紅花蕾間，偶有數枝純白與鵝黃的花朵含苞待放、互相爭輝，傳遞著豐裕吉祥的美意。借花抒情，夏加爾充分地表達對生命的歌頌，然而本幅作品並不止於一般的靜物主題畫，内裏其實蘊涵更感人的深意，如藝術史學家蘇珊・康普頓所分析：
「一束鮮花是送給戀人的經典禮物；人們將鮮花插於瓶中，然而它的美麗是轉瞬即逝的——其特性就如一把雙刃劍，深深地吸引著夏加爾。所以在這些主題的畫作中，藝術家提醒著我們愛情的無常與狂喜。」
創作本作之時，夏加爾與第二任妻子華華移居南法，而畫中花團繽紛綻放，正好體現藝術家當時的生活富足；而畫面左上角的一對白紗戀人於半空相偎，更是象徵著與之共度三十載的髮妻與繆斯貝拉。貝拉在二戰之後意外早逝，夏加爾多年以來亦憑藉繪畫疏導失去摯愛的悲痛，並以一束束鮮花與戀人的形象，延續對貝拉的牽掛，在夢幻的美境中，將苦澀與思念化爲創作的力量。
「只要一打開窗，她就出現在這兒，帶來了碧空、愛情與鮮花。從很久以前起直到今日，她都穿一身白衣白裙或黑衣黑裙，翱翔於我的畫中，照亮我的藝術之路。」
《牡丹》的那尊瓶花背後，一座鄉郊城市在星夜下安靜沉睡，該場景有可能取自夏加爾其時定居的法國南部蔚藍海岸小鎮聖保羅德旺斯，這裏的明媚風光日夜給予藝術家源源不絕的靈感；小屋成群的形象，亦比喻其安逸舒適的生活。夏加爾筆下從不謹遵現實，畫中城鎮的輪廓，同時亦是取材於讓藝術家思念半生的俄國家鄉維捷布斯克，而左上角的小提琴家，正是夏加爾在其作品中反覆用以致敬俄羅斯民俗的象徵。本幅作品除了致敬愛情，亦飽含親情以及對家鄉之情誼，寓意非凡。
本作由原藏家於1975年購自巴黎瑪格畫廊，後由藏家家族繼承多年而從未曝光，如今登臨蘇富比，以浪漫詩性的表現，引領觀者走入夏加爾的芬芳醉夢。構圖及尺幅相近之夏加爾花卉作品，過往在拍場上不乏光芒，而成交價更多次高達四百萬美元，本作之估價極爲吸引。