Chagall Lithographe III
Date: 1965
Inventory Number: MUS-117-0001
Classification: Lithograph
Dimensions:frame: 51.4 × 68.6 cm (20 1/4 × 27 in.)
print: 34.63 x 52.07 cm (13.63 x 20.50 in.)
Accessories: Manila envelope with a paper document inside
DescriptionTwo lithographs front and back covers for the book "Marc Chagall- Lithographe III". It was printed on one sheet of wove paper. The lithograph has black ink and dark reddish ink. A lithograph is a useful process in duplicating original works becuase it does not require metal etchings like original prints. A set of greasy crayons or pencils are used instead of physical carvings.
On the proper right side of the print, which would have been the back cover there is a variation of foliage depicted. On the proper left side of the print, which would have been the front cover there are two faces, iconic of Chagall's art, and an image of a horse with a female human figure standing on the horse.
Marc Chagall's signature is printed on the top right section of the print. The print is contained in a creme matte with black trim and cased in a black frame.
There is a card board backing and hanging wire in the back. Also taped to the back with blue painter's tape is a manila envelope with "Marc Chagall II" inscribed on the envelope and it contains two papers inside.
Signedprinted on paper (front): Chagall
Inscribedin marker on envelope: Marc Chagall III
printed on front paper: Lithographe III
FunctionOriginally painted by Marc Chagall and then printed by Mourlot, Paris as the front and back cover for the book, "Chagall Lithograph IIl 1962- 1968". Then it was sold and framed by an online luxury marketplace, 1stdibs, as fine art for interior design.
Historical AttributesFernand Mourlot was the grandson of the orginal Mourlot who opened a lithographic workshop in Paris in 1852. Fernand Mourlot took over the business in the early 1920s because he helped foster the resurgence of lithography and cultivated it as a painter's medium with artists like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Joan Míro, and other contemporary artists of that time.
Primary SourcesCain, Julien, Marc Chagall, and Fernand Mourlot."Chagall Lithographe III." Monte-Carlo: Sauret, 1969.
ProvenanceTwo lithographs front and back covers desgined by Marc Chagall and printed by Mourlot Studios in 1965 for the book "Marc Chagall- Lithographe III". Mourlot, Paris published it as the third volume of the Chagall Lithographs Catalog Raissone.
Purchased from 1stdibs, an e-commerce company. It is an online marketplace, that sells luxury items like high-end furniture for interior design, fine art, and jewelry.
https://www.1stdibs.com/art/prints-works-on-paper/figurative-prints-works-on-paper/marc-chagall-chagall-lithographe-iii-mourlot-paris-1965-two-lithographs-on-wove-paper/id-a_2575343/
Purchased at a silent auction at the Few Good Men Gala organized by the Ronald McDonald House Long Beach on October 29, 2019.
Published ReferencesAntreasian, Garo Z., and Clinton Adams. The Tamarind Book of Lithography, Art and Techniques. Los Angeles: Tamarind Lithography Workshop, 1990.
Chagall, Marc, Charles Sorlier, Ulrike Gauss, and Christofer Conrad. Marc Chagall: the Lithographs: La Collection Sorlier. Ostfildern: Hatje, 1998.
Wilson, Jonathan. Marc Chagall. Jewish Encounters Series, 2007.