Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Adam et Eve Pen and India ink, brush, and wash on paper 30 x 22-1/4 inches (76.2 x 56.5 cm) Signed lower left: Marc Chagall Titled and inscribed on verso: Adam et Eve/ D610/ Y383 PROVENANCE: Estate of the artist; Christie's, New York, May 12, 1988, lot 153; Private collection, United States; Logos Fine Art, Inc., Great Neck, New York; Private collection, New York. NOTE: This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Chagall Comité signed by Jean-Louis Prat on November 28, 1988. Biblical imagery occupies a central place in Marc Chagall’s art, providing him with subjects through which he could explore love, faith, suffering, exile, and hope. Adam and Eve belong to this deeply personal aspect of his oeuvre, transforming the familiar story of the first man and woman into an intimate and distinctly Chagallian vision. Chagall’s sustained engagement with the Bible began in earnest after Ambroise Vollard commissioned him to illustrate the text in 1930. His journey to Palestine the following year profoundly affected him, and he subsequently produced numerous drawings and preparatory works that led to his celebrated series of 105 biblical etchings. Rather than illustrating Scripture literally, Chagall approached these stories as timeless human experiences, interpreting them with the same poetic freedom found throughout his paintings. In Adam et Eve, pen, India ink, brush, and wash allow Chagall to move effortlessly between line and shadow. The fluid contours give the figures an immediate, almost spontaneous quality, while the darker passages of wash create an atmosphere that is both dreamlike and dramatic. This combination of expressive line and tonal depth is closely related to the visual language Chagall developed in his biblical drawings and prints, where black and white could achieve an emotional intensity quite different from the brilliant color for which he is best known. The subject of Adam and Eve was especially suited to Chagall. Throughout his career, couples and lovers represented intimacy, unity, and the enduring power of love. Here, that recurring theme is carried back to its biblical origin—the first couple—bringing together two essential strands of Chagall’s art: romantic love and spiritual tradition. Adam and Eve, therefore, reveal another side of Chagall’s achievement. Without relying on his celebrated color, he creates a work through line, gesture, and washes of ink that is at once biblical and deeply human. Like his finest drawings from this tradition, it transforms an ancient story into an image of love and human connection that feels remarkably immediate. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Estate of the artist; Christie's, New York, May 12, 1988, lot 153; Private collection, United States; Logos Fine Art, Inc., Great Neck, New York; Private collection, New York.

Presents well overall. Strong tonal gradients throughout. No major condition issues to note. Verso of sheet exhibits stray marks throughout. Sheet is hinged to matboard along entire upper verso edge, matted and framed under museum grade acrylic.
Framed Dimensions 41.5 X 34 Inches