Inspired by the mythical poets of Greece, Chagall magically recreates this scene in which Pan, the God of shepherds and flocks, dances amidst a banquet. An excerpt from the corresponding text from Sur la Terre des Dieux states, "Come muses, sing this rural song 'Oh Pan, Pan, haunt the long ridge of Mount Lycaeus' - Theocritus." This scene of joy and merriment is conveyed through the use of brilliant color and animated figures. Pan appears as a lively figure in bright red, dancing to the right. Two nude women swoop up in the center, holding platters of fruit. In the very center, a male face bows down and seems to clasp a glass of what the viewer can only infer as wine. The viewer cannot be certain if this human face is a figure in and of himself or a mortal extension of the god Pan, charming the two beautiful women. The vibrant lime green and yellow background contributes to an overall sense of frenetic energy and chaos, as if the figures are letting loose and enjoying themselves to the fullest.

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). This work is numbered 71/75 from the edition of 75 in pencil in the lower left margin. Hand-signed by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk, 1997 - Saint-Paul, 1985) in pencil in the lower right margin, this work is published by A.C. Mazo, Paris and printed by Mourlot, Paris.

 
PROVENANCE:
1. Merrill Chase Galleries, Ltd - Chicago
2. Private Collection - Chicago

DOCUMENTED AND ILLUSTRATED IN:
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. 537 on pg. 256.
3) Mourlot, Fernand. The Lithographs of Chagall, vol. III 1962-1968, Monté Carlo, 1960. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 537 on pg. 150 with details on page 141.

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.