Les Lilas.

This piece comprises some of Chagall's more well-known and loved compositional elements. At the centre of the image is a monumental bouquet of lilacs in a vase, surrounded by floating figures and animals. The presence of the horse and the cockerel allude to the artist's self-representation, with the former often thought to depict himself and the latter to symbolize his alter-ego. At the left of the bouquet are distant traditional wooden Russian dwellings typical of Chagall's childhood home in Vitebsk (now in Belarus), which the artist made the subject of his art from his very earliest creations. According to Jean-Michel Foray, the former director of the Marc Chagall Museum in Nice, however, we shouldn't push too hard in trying to 'decrypt' what the scenes mean: 'We cannot interpret them, because they are simply part of Chagall's world, like figures from a dream.'

Lithograph in colours, 1980, on Arches paper, signed in pencil, numbered 36/50 from the edition of 50, published by Maeght Editeur, Paris, image: 92.1 x 60.3 cm. (36 ¼ x 23 ¾ in.), sheet: 115.6 x 74.9 cm. (45 ½ x 29 ½ in.)

M.975.