Dimensions

24.2 × 16 cm (9⅝ × 6⅜ in.)

Provenance

The Artist's Estate.

Thence by descent to the present owner.

Authentication

Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Comité Chagall, Paris, dated 3 August 2023.

Condition

In very good condition.

Catalogue Note

This intimate and highly personal drawing was created for Marc Chagall's beloved second wife, Valentina "Vava" Brodsky (1905–1993), to whom it is affectionately dedicated. More than a simple inscription, the words "pour Vava" transform the work into a deeply private expression of affection between the artist and the woman who became his lifelong companion during the final three decades of his life.

Following the death of his first wife, Bella, in 1944, Chagall met Vava in the spring of 1952 and married her later that same year. An art historian by training and fluent in several languages, Vava became not only Chagall's wife but also his trusted confidante, organiser and greatest supporter. She played a crucial role in managing the artist's increasingly international career and encouraged many of the ambitious commissions of his later years, including the celebrated stained-glass windows created for churches, synagogues and public buildings around the world.

The present drawing combines two of Chagall's most enduring symbols: the bouquet of flowers and the cockerel. Throughout his career, flowers represented love, celebration and renewal, while the cockerel—drawn from the rural traditions of his childhood in Vitebsk—symbolised vitality, fertility and joyful domestic life. Both motifs recur repeatedly in Chagall's paintings, drawings and prints, where they become poetic emblems of memory, affection and spiritual optimism. Here they are united in a composition of remarkable freshness and spontaneity, executed with fluid India ink and enlivened by delicate passages of pastel.

Unlike Chagall's highly finished paintings, this drawing possesses the immediacy of a personal gift. The spontaneous line, intimate scale and handwritten dedication offer a rare insight into the artist's private world, revealing the warmth and humanity that lay behind his public reputation. Such works occupy a particularly special place within Chagall's oeuvre, combining artistic significance with exceptional personal resonance.

The drawing is further distinguished by impeccable provenance, descending directly from the artist's estate, and by its authentication from the Comité Chagall, the internationally recognised authority on the artist's work. Its combination of intimate subject matter, personal dedication and outstanding provenance makes Le Bouquet au coq rouge pour Vava an exceptional example of Chagall's late drawings and a touching testament to one of the great artistic partnerships of the twentieth century.