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Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000
MARC CHAGALL (after) Romeo and Juliet.
Color lithograph, 1964. 635x990 mm; 25x39 inches, full margins. The deluxe edition, before letters. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 200. Signed in pencil, lower right. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by the French Tourist Bureau, Paris. A superb impression of this large, important lithograph with vibrant colors.
Chagall's (1887-1985) exceptional career as a lithographer was greatly facilitated by his ongoing artistic collaboration with the master-printer Charles Sorlier of the Atelier Mourlot, Paris. Though Chagall made lithographs as early as the 1920s, his lithographic work blossomed from the 1950s onward, under the guidance of Sorlier. Sorlier became so familiar with Chagall's work (and Chagall relied on Sorlier's judgment to such an extent) that Sorlier created a number of prints in a style "after" Chagall, as interpretive designs of Chagall's original paintings and gouaches (see lot 559).
Many other artists produced "after" prints in this fashion as well, issuing works that were made by the same professional printmakers that they were working with to produce their "original" editions. In other cases, the "after" prints were created by well-known artists; Jacques Villon, for instance, made many prints after artists such as Matisse and Picasso. "After" prints were also created under the auspices of artists' publishers. Like Chagall, Braque assisted the printers closely throughout the entire process; he chose each image and which technique to use, directed the lithographer or engraver, and corrected and approved the proofs, authorizing his production of the work by hand-signing the edition.
These "after" prints reproduce prominent, large color paintings from earlier in the artists' careers, created before they had begun to utilize color printmaking techniques. Generally, these "after" editions have been championed by print publishers too as a means of extending the artists' commercial output. Sorlier 96.
