In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: Marc Chagall, “Preparations for the Candidates’ Feast.”
Considered one of the great pioneers of modern art, Marc Chagall (1887–1985) was associated during his lengthy career with several major artistic styles, including Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. What is more, the artist was known for working in an extraordinary range of mediums, with works in painting, book illustration, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic, printmaking, and more. Chagall was also known for his acute awareness of color; Pablo Picasso once remarked, “When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what color really is.”
Chagall’s masterful ability to pair and use color indeed comes into full bloom with “Preparations for the Candidates’ Feast,” which will feature in a September 26 auction via Martin + Lawrence Galleries in New York. A lithograph, “Preparations for the Candidates’ Feast” is an awkward, perspective-shifting print of several figures, a classically designed building façade, trees, a horse, and a sailboat. The powerful diagonal composition of the picture creates tension and a sense of unbalanced movement from lower left to upper right.
The palette of the piece is masterfully balanced, however, offering a reprieve from the instability of the subjects. Saturated yellows and oranges dominate the upper left of the print while cool hues of pastel green and blue form a tree at the bottom and grasses to the right. The narrative of the piece is allusive, but could be indicated in the piece’s title.
Perhaps more encouraging is the range of selections from Martin + Lawrence. “Preparations for the Candidates’ Feast” is one of approximately 70 lithographs available.
To view the full catalogue, visit Martin + Lawrence.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Featured Lot: Marc Chagall, “Preparations for the Candidates’ Feast”
