A passionate and charged image, this piece highlights Chagall's poetic use of form and color to convey the tumultuous nature of this charged historical moment.

Inspired by a preparatory drawing that Chagall created in 1937 for the painting entitled "The Revolution," this work was created for the exhibition entitled "Les Peintres Témoins de Leur Temps" (Painters as Witnesses of Their Times) held at the Galleria Museum in Paris from January 17 - March 17, 1963. Numbered 63/150, this work is part of a limited edition printed without the text. Composed of only yellow, red, and black, the striking limited palate emphasizes the drama of the composition and further articulates Chagall as a master of color in lithographic printmaking. This piece was printed by Mourlot and engraved by Sorlier.

This work is remarkable in its ability to speak to multiple forms and stages of revolution. In the lower right hand corner a figure prepares to depart from his house, just as another above him sits upon a broken chair reflecting in utter despair. The crowds seen at the left of the image prepare to confront their oppressors. The artist further accentuates this sense of fervor by the band of passionate red that highlights the area. Just as the crowd on the left prepares to fight, the crowds seen at the top of the image rejoice in the promise of a new beginning which is symbolized by their playing of musical instruments. It is interesting to note that it is here that the artist represents the painter at his easel, as if to say the artist witnesses all but wishes to error on the side of optimism.

Of the painting "Revolution", Alain Jouffroy has stated, "in the Revolution of 1937 were only one of the travestied acrobats from the Jewish Theater or the circus, a reinventor of the world, a clown of history. The world, for Chagall, is nothing but its own parody, its mask, its double, but at the same time this double, this travesty, unveils its truth. The game creates the beauty and if the game should stop, death alone would triumph" (Baal-Teshuva, 121) .

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that I will enclose with the sale of the work) :

1. Sorlier, Charles, Chagall's Posters: A Catalogue Raisonne, 1970, listed on pages 92 and 93.

2. Sorlier, Charles, Chagall Lithographs, volume V, page198, listed as CS 9.

About the Framing:
Conservation framed with archival materials and museum quality, this work is float mounted on white linen in a Renaissance-inspired bronze-leaf frame. The contrast of the moulding compliments the delicate tonal variations in this work. The sculptural details of the bronze ribboning and floral motifs accentuates the intricate linear elements in this piece. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind an archival Plexiglas cover.