Marc Chagall Sur la Terre des Dieux (In the Land of the Gods): Anacreon, 1967  presents a mythical scene  inspired by the lyrical poetry of Anacreon, an ancient Greek poet. At the right, a nude woman riding a maroon bull breaks into the composition. Her head is titled gently and her hands folded softly on her lap. She is gentleness and beauty personified. Her steed meanwhile disturbs a pair of fighting men with swords, throwing them off balance. At the left, a horned and armed figure reaches out towards the woman with a demure readiness, as if spiritually disarmed by her glowing grace. An excerpt from the corresponding text from Sur la Terre des Dieux elaborates on the fascinating scene: "For a woman, what remains? What has she received? Beauty.  Therein lies her faithful armory of darts and shield. Devouring flame and warrior's fire, all must yield to her... she is beautiful. - Anacreon"

Of Chagall's fascination with Greek mythology Robert Marteau (who wrote the preface for In the Land of the Gods) states, "In truth, Chagall has always lived in that Greece where the stuff of the universe has no seam, and where humanity is human just because it participates in the divine, and in each act proves that this is so. Moreover, Greece teaches us that the essential act is poetic, allowing image, metaphor, and myth, not to interpret nature, but everlastingly to renew creation so that we live in a perpetual revolution" (Mourlot, 142).

Created in 1967, this original color lithograph is from the book Sur La Terre Des Dieux (In the Land of the Gods). Hand-signed by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk, 1997 - Saint-Paul, 1985) in pencil in the lower right margin. This work is inscribed "T" from an edition lettered A-Y; aside from the numbered edition of 75. This work is published by A.C. Mazo, Paris and printed by Mourlot, Paris.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Marc Chagall Sur la Terre des Dieux (In the Land of the Gods): Anacreon, 1967 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoice accompanying the final sale of the work).

1.  Cramer, Patrick. Marc Chagall, The Illustrated Books: Catalogue Raisonné. Patrick Cramer: Geneva, 1995. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 72 on pgs. 224-225.
2.  Gauss, Ulrike, ed. Marc Chagall: The Lithographs, La Collection Sorlier, Stuttgart, 1960. Listed and illustrated as cat. no. 536 on pg. 256.
3.  Mourlot, Fernand. The Lithographs of Chagall, vol. III 1962-1968, Monté Carlo, 1960. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 536 on pg. 150 with details on page 141.
4. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:
Framed to archival museum grade conservation standards, this piece is framed in a complementary moulding with silk mats and optical grade Plexiglas.