Created in 1964, this image was part of a series of twelve lithographs which Chagall (Vitebsk, 1887- Saint-Paul, 1985) designed after the stain glass windows he created for the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew Medical Center located just outside of Jerusalem.  The work was engraved and printed by Charles Sorlier in collaboration with Marc Chagall on Arches wove paper; in the lower left of the image, ‘CH. SORLIER_GRAV. LITH.’  On the lower right hand on the reverse side of the sheet, there is printed text which reads, ‘MARC CHAGALL | MAQUETTE DU VITRAIL ‘LEVI’ | pour Jérusalem’.  Hand signed by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk, 1887- Saint-Paul, 1985) in pencil in the lower right margin; numbered XVII/LXXV.

According to Jean Leymarie of The Jerusalem Windows:
“Around the Torah burn “like flamboyant jacinthes,” according to Chagall, the candles which generate a mystic light.  The two objects in the form of a candelabrum in front of the altar suggest, in addition, a possible allusion to the cup of the kiddush and the candlestick of the havdala. The four heraldic animals of the synagogue, embodying religious spirituality, whose bright colors emerge from the deep yellow background, frolic around a vase of offerings filled with flowers and fruits as well as around the star, emblem of David, the symbolic hexagram which has become the widespread symbol of Judaism today.  Its presence is anachronistic, but it is charged with an intense beauty.”

“Chagall has magnificently animated the yellow ground, so difficult to make lustrous, by a continuous vibration of little details painted with lightness and delicacy, like oriental embroidery, and numerous accents of light.  Notice the use of silvered yellow and, in a portion of the stage, the Persian rose-gold (17).”

Illustrated In:

1)    Leymarie, Jean, Marc Chagall The Jerusalem Windows, 1975, listed on pages 17-23.

2)    Sorlier, Charles, Chagall Lithographs, 1974-79, 1984, listed on pages 201-202 and on page 205 as plate CS 14.

3)    Sorlier, Charles, Chagall’s Posters Catalogue Raisonné, 1975, listed as Sorlier 86.

About The Framing:
Framed in museum quality archival materials, this work is set in a Spanish-style black frame with gold and bronze detailing.  The bright gold of the moulding complements the cool tones in the work, while the elaborate curvatures cast within the frame resonate the motion and richness of the piece itself.  The simple stepped elements also accentuate the linear quality of this work.  Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind an archival Plexiglas® cover.