Daphnis and Chloe Beside the F

Chagall, Marc

256121 Chagall, Marc Daphnis and Chloe Beside the Fountain From Daphnis and Chloe 1961 M.313 16 3/4'' x 12 3/4'' Lithograph in color on Arches wove paper. Signed in pencil and numbered. From the deluxe edition of 60 examples with wide margins. Aside from the book edition of 250 unsigned examples. Published by Teriade, Paris. Chagall's "Daphnis and Chloe" ranks among the great masterpieces of color lithography created by any artist. The series was originally proposed to Chagall by the publisher, Teriade in 1939, but Chagall elected not to begin to work on the suite until 1958. Three years of labor were required by both the artist and the renown Mourlot lithographic studio to complete the series of 42 lithographs which illustrate the ancient love story of the two title characters. Chagall was at first reluctant to undertake the commission because of his admiration for Bonnard who already created his own illustration of Longus novel which scholars of Ancient Greece estimate was written in the second century A.D. Chagall made two separate trips to Greece to prepare himself for the series. His intention was to absorb the light, atmosphere and mood of the ancient land and he created numerous watercolor sketches in preparation for the lithographs. The publisher initially limited the number of colors to five or six, but with the creation of each successive trial proof, more colors were added until twenty or more were finally employed to complete each image. The results astonished collectors and art historians alike, as the lithographs achieved a quality not previously seen in the medium of color lithography. The lithographs are luminous, translucent and painterly. Describing his process to create the works, Chagall said in his inimitable metaphoric language, "...the color must be integrated with the drawing the way diction is with singing...it's like the sun coming into the garden..." Lithographer and editor of Chagall's catalog raisonee of lithographs, Fernand Mourlot, said of the suite, "Because of the quality, format and number of lithographs it contains the book constitutes a work of notable importance which, unquestionably, can be placed at the top of the list of illustrated books of our time."

Reg. No.

256121

Size

16 3/4" x 12 3/4"

Medium

LITHOGRAPH

PW Price

Call for Pricing
and Availability.

Interested in this item? Have a gallery rep. contact me., or call (800) 521.9654 x4, or (248) 354-2343.

Zoom feature: You'll notice there is a small magnifying glass icon located at the bottom right corner of each work of art featured on the site. Click on this icon and move it around the work of art to experience a more intimate view of the details, brush strokes and textures used by each artist.