Couple sur le lit by Marc Chagall

Description

• Chagall’s works in red hues are among the most sought after in his oeuvre
• The work centers on a lover’s embrace, among the most desirable motifs from his prolific career
• The backdrop of Russia pays homage to the artist’s homeland and early years
• The painting captures a moment of intimacy set against significant personal and global events

Marc Chagall
1887-1985 | Russian

Couple sur le lit
(Couple on bed)

Signed ‘Marc Chagall’ (lower right)
Oil and India ink on canvas

Marc Chagall’s exquisite work, Couple sur le lit, completed in 1952, epitomizes the motif of a lover’s embrace—a theme recurrent and highly sought after throughout his illustrious career. Additionally, this work serves as a tribute to Chagall’s native Russia, a motif that defines his oeuvre. Chagall’s works in warm, vibrant tones—specifically those rendered in reds and oranges—strongly evoke the passion of love the artist so fervently sought to portray and are among the most desirable of his works.

The motif of lovers is a hallmark of Chagall’s masterpieces, often symbolizing his deep affection for his first wife, Bella Rosenfeld, and his grief upon her death in 1944. In this remarkable composition, a couple overlooks a Russian cityscape inspired by the artist’s birthplace—his beloved village that was destroyed during World War II. Instead of succumbing to resentment over this and the many other tragedies he endured, Chagall employed bold, intense colors and dream-like settings to reflect the emotional turbulence of his life. After initially rejecting vibrant pink and red hues during his mourning for Bella and his displacement during the Second World War, Chagall eventually returned to these bright colors as a testament to the adversities he had overcome. This use of color solidified Chagall’s reputation as a master colorist in his later works, with his red hues being among the most coveted in his palette.

The beautiful female figure in this painting is bathed in warmth, and sits upright on the bed, implying her impending departure. Her companion, rendered in cool blue, reclines. His body is positioned towards her as if pleading with her to stay, likely a nod to the effects of war or, more profoundly, to life’s fragility. The painting’s ability to convey universal themes of love, loss and resilience through Chagall’s distinctive visual language makes it a compelling visual narrative.

In his lifetime Chagall produced an incredible body of work that continues to demand the highest attention in the art community. Today, his works belong to the collections of prestigious museums across the globe including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Tate Modern in London and the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris. The intense use of color and thematic depth in this painting is similar to works in the collections of top institutions, such as Les Amants au ciel rouge (Lovers in the Red Sky), 1950, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Comité Marc Chagall

Circa 1931-1952

Canvas: 22 3/4″ high x 20 1/2” wide (57.79 x 52.07 cm)
Frame: 31 3/8″ high x 28 7/8” wide x 1 1/2“ deep (79.69 x 73.34 x 3.81 cm)

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Provenance:
Estate of the artist
Private collection
M.S. Rau, New Orleans