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David et Bath-Schéba, perfect condition , Sorlier-Vollard 267. Cramer Bücher 30
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Marc CHAGALL

David et Bath-Schéba, perfect condition , Sorlier-Vollard 267. Cramer Bücher 30

GMT Galerie Marc Triebold

Date 1931-39 / 1956, 1958

Epoque 20th century

Dimension 53.5 x 39 cm (21¹/₈ x 15³/₈ inches)

Print 69 from „La Bible“. Printed by Haasan, Paris and Published by Tériade, Paris. 1931-1939
Etching with hand-coloring in watercolor on Arches wove paper. Initialed 'M. Ch' in pencil, numbered  93/100. From the edition of 100. Published in 1956 by Teriade, Paris. "La Bible" is one of Chagall's most important works. The work was originally commissioned by Ambroise Vollard in 1930. The artist spent the next 8 years from 1931 to 1939 etching the plates. Printing of the plates took place after the war, at first in Maurice Potin's studio and later at Raymond Haasen's. The cooper plates were then destroyed.

The images of this work and the further 3 works from this series on offer have been viewed by the Chagall comité and have been approved verbally in November 2023. It's not known how many of the works from this series have been actually coloured by Marc Chagall, as there are also works that staid in black and white. 

Although it was not until the 1930s that Chagall began to develop his biblical picture cycle, he had been familiar from infancy with the Bible as the history book of the Jews. Like a string of pearls threading his childhood days, the Jewish festivals, full of secret expectations and pleasantly awesome thrills, constantly brought the Bible stories and characters to life again. As in the naive mythology of Christian children such figures as the guardian angel, the Virgin Mary, or even Father Christmas really and truly exist, so for little Marc only a flimsy screen divided his real world from the figures of the Bible: any night the prophet Elijah might have come down in his fiery chariot and landed in the backyard - only it was best not to watch him. This childlike naivete - that is, the ability to see through reality to the legendary background ..beyond it - is something Chagall has treasured all his life. There is nothing, it seems to him, to stop those heroes, holy men, and prophets from turning up in real life in a variety of disguises; all one has to do is recognize them, as Abraham did the angels.

In addition, another and much further-reaching idea, of ancient Jewish origin, lives in his heart. This is the idea contained in a wonderful Hasidic parable which tells that, when the flow of God's love poured forth into the basin of the earth, it shattered into the myriad fragments of individual things, in each of which still lives a spark of the divine love. Thus even the most ordinary and commonplace thing preserves a mythical aura, which, if one is a painter, asks to be expressed in the process of transforming visible things by means of the "chemistry" of painting. How much more, then, will not this mythical presence pervade animate life?

Out of such a variety of associations grew the pictures of the Biblical Message which were painted in Vence. They do not adhere very closely to the biblical text and often play quite freely with the biblical figures. The most astonishing example of this is offered by the picture here, King David. The figure of David was a perfect subject for Chagall's roving fantasy. Not only was he a brilliant hero, killer of lions, and conqueror of Goliath, but also a great lover who, in his love for Bathsheba - who bore him the king of all kings, Solomon - did not stop short of crime. He was also a great singer and dancer, who eased the heartache of King Saul with his music, sang the poignant lamentation for his friend Jonathan slain by the Philistines, and entered Jerusalem singing and dancing before the Ark of the Covenant.


Date: 1931-39 / 1956, 1958

Epoque: 20th century

Signature: Monogrammed in pencil on the lower right as well as with the plate-signature. 

Dimension: 53.5 x 39 cm (21¹/₈ x 15³/₈ inches)

Provenance: Private collection Heidelberg, Germany; private collection, Basel, Switzerland

Literature: Sorlier-Vollard 267. Aus Cramer Bücher 30

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GMT Galerie Marc Triebold

19th to 21st Century paintings, sculptures, works on paper and prints. German Expressionism, Modern, internationally significant Contemporary Art, Katsushika Hokusai

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