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Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris; image: 95.3 x 61 cm. (37 ½ x 24 in.); sheet: 116.5 x 75.3 cm. (45 7/8 x 29 5/8 in.)
‘Dans le Ciel de l’Opera’ depicts multiple figures floating mid-air above the Palais Garnier, Paris’s historic opera house situated at the heart of Place de l’Opera. Having spent the formative and central years of his artistic career in Paris, from 1910-14 and again from 1923-40, the city was a second home to Chagall and is extensively represented in his works. When the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier was completely renovated in 1964, Chagall was commissioned by the Minister of Culture, André Malraux, to paint the 2,400 square feet of frescoes adorning it. The vibrant colours of this piece echo those of the iconic frescos within, notably the ‘Chagall blue’, the characteristic shade of blue that dominated his paintings. Created towards the end of his life, this lithograph is a fond tribute of the artist’s time in the City of Light.
