Description:Created in 1964, this image is part of a series of twelve lithographs which Chagall designed after the stain glass windows he created for the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew Medical Center, located just outside of Jerusalem. Hand signed by March Chagall in pencil in the lower right margin, the work was engraved and printed by Charles Sorlier in collaboration with Marc Chagall on Arches wove paper; the Arches watermark appears vertically in the right margin. On the lower right hand on the reverse side of the sheet, there is printed text which reads, "MARC CHAGALL, MAQUETTE DU VITRAIL 'ZEBULUN', pour Jérusalem, repuroudite en lithographie, Ch Sorlier, graveur - Mourlot, Imp." The engraver's signature also appears in the plate in the lower left hand side. This piece is from a larger edition of 150, numbered in roman numerals 'XV/LXXV' in pencil in the lower left margin.
Explosive uses of bold, rich reds swirl throughout the entire composition, allowing for Zebulun's characters to seemingly leap from the work. Highly symbolic and incredibly rich in meaning, the figures also form to create the name, 'Zebulun' in Hebrew letters along the upper area of the piece.
According to Jean Leymarie:
"Issachar and Zebulun, the two youngest children of Leah, are joined together in the blessing of Moses who assigns to the two tribes a prosperous destiny….Jacob blessed Zebulun and Issachar separately, giving the priority to Zebulun…He predicted for him a maritime vocation, and designated him as 'an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zion.' The ship is the usual symbol for Zebulun. (77) "
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) Leymarie, Jean. Marc Chagall: The Jerusalem Windows, Park Lane: New York, 1988. Illustrated and detailed on pgs. 77-87.
2) Sorlier, Charles. Chagall Lithographs, vol. V 1974-79, Crown Publishers: New York, 1984. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. CS 16 on pg. 207 with additional details on pgs. 201-2 and 215.
About the Framing:
Framed in a robust, Baroque-style gold moulding. Rich, undulating sculptural details gracefully compliment the movement within this work without overtaking or distracting from Chagall's beautiful window. Framing is completed with white, linen-wrapped mats, a matching gold inner fillet set behind an archival Plexiglas® cover.
