50 MarcChagall
1 8 87 - 1 9 8 5
L E r Ê v E D U P E I N T r E signedMarc Chagall(lowerright);signedMarc Chagallonthereverse iloncanvas o 100by65cm.39⅜by25⅝in. Paintedcirca1980. ‡ £650,000-850,000
€760,000-990,000US$945,000-1,240,000
rovenance P Estateoftheartist PrivateCollection,USA Acquiredbythepresentownerin2007 TheauthenticityofthisworkhasbeenconfirmedbytheComitéMarcChagall.
Le rêve du peintre is a quintessential example of the fantastic, dream-like quality of Chagall's art, combining some of the key elements of his pictorial iconography. Chagall found a strong affinity between painting and dreaming,whichisexpressedinboththetitleandsubjectof this composition. rather than representing a rational arrangementofdifferentelementswithinthespaceofthe painting,Le rêve du peintre isacompilationoftheartist's favouritesubjects,connectedbyaninternalprinciplerather than by a logical spatial relationship. With its fanciful, dream-like composition, the painting becomes an expressionoftheartist'sinternaluniverseratherthanand objectiveprojectionoftheoutsideworld.
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his work is a bold example of the creative energy that T remainedundiminishedinthelastdecadeofChagall'slife.A vividphantasmagoricalcomposition,itisroughlydividedinto twoareas:theupperleftofthecanvasdepictsanopenspace dominatedbytheimageoftheartistinfrontofhiseasel, illuminatedbyboththesunandthemoon.Thelowerright areaisdenselypopulatedwithnumerousfigures,representing theworldofthepainter'sdream.Embracingartisticfreedom of expression rather than following the logic of everyday appearances,Chagallrendershisfiguresonunrelatedscales, andtwobrightlycolouredcouplesloomlargeovertherestof thecrowd.Thisabandontothejoyofcreationreflectsthe artist'sconfidenceinhisstyleandtechniqueandhisdeeply individualandsubjectiveapproachtopainting.