Marc Chagall, the Tribe of Levi From the Twelve Maquettes of Stained Glass Windows for Jerusalem (1964)

Created in 1964, this image was part of a series of twelve printed by the esteemed French printer Charles Sorlier,

Chagall – The Tribe of Levi from The Twelve Maquettes of Stained Glass Windows for Jerusalem (1964) designed after the stain glass windows he created for the accompanies this work, synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew Medical Center outside of Jerusalem. The work was engraved and printed by Charles Sorlier in collaboration with Marc Chagall on Arches
wove paper; in the lower left of the image, ‘CH. All catalogue raisonné and SORLIER_GRAV. LITH.’ On the lower right hand o) in pencil in the lower right margin; numbered

According to Jean Leymarie of The Jerusalem Windows: “Around the Torah burn “like flamboyant jacinthes,” according to Chagall, the candles which generate a mystic light. The two objects in the form of a candelabrum in front of the altar suggest, in addition, a possible allusion to the cup of the kiddush and the candlestick of the havdala. The four heraldic animals of the synagogue, embodying religious spirituality, whose bright colors emerge from the deep yellow background, frolic around a vase of offerings filled with flowers and fruits as well as around the star, emblem of David, the symbolic hexagram which has become the widespread symbol of Judaism today. Its presence is anachronistic, but it is charged with an intense beauty.”

“Chagall has magnificently animated the yellow ground, so difficult to make lustrous, by a continuous vibration of little details painted with lightness and delicacy, like oriental embroidery, and numerous accents of light. Notice the use of silvered yellow and, in a portion of the stage, the Persian rose- gold (17).”

Windows are located at the Synagogue at the Medical Centre of the Hadassah-Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Illustrated In:
1) Leymarie, Jean, Marc Chagall The Jerusalem Windows, 1975, listed on pages 17-23.
2) Sorlier, Charles, Chagall Lithographs, 1974-79, 1984, listed on pages 201-202 and on page 205 as plate CS 14.
3) Sorlier, Charles, Chagall’s Posters Catalogue Raisonné, 1975, listed as Sorlier 86.

About The Framing:
Framed in museum quality archival materials, this work is set in a classic “casetta” style black frame with gold leaf detailing. The gold of the moulding complements the cool tones in the work, while the black creates a vivid definition and visual contrast with the artwork..