293 - Marc Chagall. Cirque. Original lithographs by Marc Chagall. Paris, Tériade Éditeur, 1967. Includes 38 lithographs, 23 of which are in color, and 3 are double-sheet size. Loose double sheets and two sheets in their original envelope, folder, and slipcase.

Marc Chagall. Cirque. Original lithographs by Marc Chagall. Paris, Tériade Éditeur, 1967. Includes 38 lithographs, 23 of which are in color, and 3 are double-sheet size. Loose double sheets and two sheets in their original envelope, folder, and slipcase. Starting time: approx. 3:45 p.m. (schedule subject to change) One of 250 copies (total print run 270). - Signed by the artist in the printer’s mark. - Ambroise Vollard, himself a great circus enthusiast, asked Chagall as early as 1927 to create a series of gouaches on this theme. As an incentive, Vollard invited Chagall to his box at the Cirque d’Hiver. Building on the gouaches he had created at that time and inspired by further visits to the circus, Chagall began working on this series in 1962 and produced 23 color and 15 black-and-white lithographs, for which he wrote the accompanying text himself, in which he sums up “Throughout the centuries, it has been the most piercing cry in humanity’s quest for amusement and joy.” - Tériade encouraged various other artists to create illustrations on the circus theme: Rouault (1943), Matisse (1947), Léger (1950), and finally Chagall. - The sheer enthusiasm for the profession that radiates from these images, the joy, and their life-affirming spirit stand in sharp contrast to the gloomy clowns and circus ladies of Georges Rouault. Cramer 68. - Mourlot 490–527. - Monod 2498. - Tériade 2002, p. 71ff. 43.2 × 33.2 cm. 123, [10] pages. - Slipcase and chemise cover have slight foxing. - Outer margins and edges have a few small spots of foxing. English description: Includes 38 lithographs, 23 of which are in color, and 3 are double-sheet size. Loose double sheets and 2 single sheets, together in the original wrapper, chemise, and slipcase. One of 250 copies (total print run of 270). - Signed by the artist in the colophon. - Ambroise Vollard, himself a great circus enthusiast, asked Chagall in 1927 to create a series of gouaches on this theme. As an incentive, he offered the artist the use of his own box at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris during visits. Building on the early gouaches commissioned by Vollard, Chagall began work on this series in 1962 and created 23 color and 15 black-and-white lithographs, for which he wrote an accompanying text. Chagall was fascinated by color lithography as a printmaking medium, as it offered him nearly unlimited painterly freedom. Upon completion, the book also became known as the “Cirque Vollard” series. The sheer enthusiasm for the craft that radiates from these images, along with their joy and life-affirming spirit, stand in sharp contrast to the gloomy clowns and circus ladies of Georges Rouault, who also created circus-themed illustrations for Vollard. The slipcase and chemise cover have slight foxing. - The outer edges and trim have a few small spots of foxing.