In the Night
Marc Chagall, French (born Russia), 1887 - 1985
Date:
1943Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
18 1/2 x 20 5/8 inches (47 x 52.4 cm) Framed: 22 5/8 x 24 3/4 x 2 inches (57.5 x 62.9 x 5.1 cm)Copyright:
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Curatorial Department:
European PaintingObject Location:
1963-181-16Credit Line:
The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963
1943Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
18 1/2 x 20 5/8 inches (47 x 52.4 cm) Framed: 22 5/8 x 24 3/4 x 2 inches (57.5 x 62.9 x 5.1 cm)Copyright:
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Curatorial Department:
European PaintingObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:1963-181-16Credit Line:
The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963
Label:
Shortly after marrying Bella Rosenfeld in July 1915, Chagall embarked on a series of wedding portraits that continued until his wife’s premature death from a viral infection in 1944. In the Night, which depicts the newlyweds embracing in a nocturnal scene of Vitebsk, was painted from memory in 1943. Chagall’s depiction of his hometown also includes a whimsical floating cow, barely outlined in the black night sky, and a hanging lamp. The conflation of these interior and exterior elements allows Chagall and Bella to inhabit their own world, where their experience of each other brings back their shared memories of their years together.
Shortly after marrying Bella Rosenfeld in July 1915, Chagall embarked on a series of wedding portraits that continued until his wife’s premature death from a viral infection in 1944. In the Night, which depicts the newlyweds embracing in a nocturnal scene of Vitebsk, was painted from memory in 1943. Chagall’s depiction of his hometown also includes a whimsical floating cow, barely outlined in the black night sky, and a hanging lamp. The conflation of these interior and exterior elements allows Chagall and Bella to inhabit their own world, where their experience of each other brings back their shared memories of their years together.
