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.