Marc Chagall Avenue De La Victoire At Nice, Plate VI, from Nice et la Côte d'Azur, 1967; Inspired by the warmth, joy, and plentitude of the Mediterranean, Chagall offers us a refreshing take at the old French subject of Victory. His flushed pallet and carefree gestures allow us to understand and experience Victory as do the Niçois, under the glow of the wonderfully carefree and warm Mediterranean sun.

This piece is part of a set of 12 lithographs that were created in collaboration between Chagall and Charles Sorlier and run in 1967, of which there were 235 total. This work is numbered from the edition of 150, printed on Arches wove paper. This work has the printed text on the reverse, "MARC CHAGALL, AVENUE DE LA VICTOIRE A NICE, gouache sur papier, reprodite en lithographie, Ch. Sorlier, graveur - Mourlot, Imp."

Using the Avenue De La Victoire as his muse, Chagall constructs an iconography that is buoyant and cheerful, while remaining true to the traditional elements of the subject. A riot of color assaults the viewer as a torrent of pedestrian commoner's stream between a colonnade replete with a row of arches down Victory Avenue. Chagall's Niçois version of lady Victory is a sinewy red head with flushed cheeks and round bust. Instead of the customary flag, this iconoclast offers her citizens a flourishing bouquet of Niçois flowers that radiate color and warmth under Chagall's hand. Lest we forget about the tender and moving Mediterranean sea, which in its reflection of the midday sun, foments the jocund atmosphere, Chagall finishes his piece using a playful cerulean blue to create a quirky fish and the gentle sea as it laps against the shoreline. The whimsical cast of characters and effulgent colors testify to the effects of the Mediterranean on Chagall, which are especially evident in this work. It is that certain light-heartedness of the Mediterranean that drew Chagall and other's to the sea, and which we perhaps should endeavor to incorporate into our daily lives, if not by actually visiting, then by owning this piece.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Marc Chagall Avenue De La Victoire At Nice, Plate VI, from Nice et la Côte d'Azur, 1967 is fully documented and referenced in (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that I will accompany the final sale of the work):

1. Sorlier, Charles, Chagall Lithographs, Volume V, Crown Publishers, New York, 1984. Listed on page 226 as plate CS 31.
2. Jenkintown Press, Marc Chagall, Jenkintown Press, 1999 Martin Lawrence Limited Edition. Listed on page 68 as CS 31.
3. Meyer, Franz, Marc Chagall, Harry N. Abrams, New York. Listed as plate 999.

About the Framing:

Marc Chagall Avenue De La Victoire At Nice, Plate VI, from Nice et la Côte d'Azur, 1967 is framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complementary moulding and optical grade Plexiglas.