L'inspire Inspiration Self Portrait Chagall French Lithographe no398 22" 55.5cm high

L'INSPIRÉ, SELF PORTRAIT, MARC CHAGALL & HIS WIFE VALENTINA VAVA, LITHOGRAPH MOURLOT 398, 1963 A self-portrait of the great artist, depicting him lost in thought before one of his paintings, which is apparently related to his home country Russia, as suggested by the small figure in the lower right of the work. Chagall's wife Valentina ("Vava"), who was also from Russia, is looking over his shoulder, full of longing. The small surreal elements that are characteristic of Chagall's paintings are also present here: the silhouettes of the houses that seems to stick out of the painting and a figure with a flute or trombone standing on its head. Chagall Lithographe, Volume II of the catalogue raisonné of Chagall's lithographic work, see Mourlot 398, 1957-1962, Paris 1963, imprinted by Imprimerie Mourlot for the publisher André Sauret. A lithographic plate from the catalog that was published in 10,000 copies.

Provenance : Private Collection, purchased with Lovers in Grey Set inside a cream mount bearing brass cartellino Visible sheet size length 23cm, Height 31.50cm In the original carved and gilded frame Frame size Length 44cm, Height 55.5cm The reverse with a paper label in Japanese

Since 1852 Fernand Mourlot has been synonymous with the resurgence of lithography - a process which under his influence, attracted the greatest artistic masters of our time. The medium provided a new avenue of expression, a new realm of possibilities for the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miró, Braque, Dubuffet, Léger, and Giacometti to enrich their own work as well as fine art in general. Under the guidance of Mourlot, modern lithography developed a personality and discovered a future.

With a lithograph printshop on the rue Chabrol, one of the most popular neighborhoods in East Paris, the studio focused largely on commercial work and theater and cabaret posters. While Mourlot already had a name in printing before the outbreak of the First World War, it wasn't until the Delacroix Exhibition in 1930 that one of the most important features of Fernand Mourlot's domain was revealed, the art poster. Per Mourlot's ingenuity, the exhibition poster was prepared and produced as a work of art in its own right for the first time.

In addition, Mourlot cultivated the lithograph as a painter's medium. Initially limited to illustration, the lithograph was invented by Aloys Senefelder at the end of the 18th century. Although immediately accepted in the highest critic's circles, the medium did not flourish until its adaptation by Cheret, Lautrec, Bonnard, and Vuillard who found a unique form of expression in its' modern technique and bold colors. Fernand Mourlot identified this niche and employed its evident popularity by inviting artists to work directly on the stone, as if creating a poster. The first painters to create lithographs at the Mourlot Frères studio were Vlaminck and Utrillo, and for many years they would be the only ones. Further, he experimented with lithographic inks and colors, carefully dosing the varnishes and essences, and analyzing the resistance of the resulting tones to the effect of light.

In 1937, the studio created two posters (based on paintings by Matisse and Bonnard) for the Maitres de l'Art indépendant exhibition at the Petit Palais. The posters were of such excellent quality that it was clear they had attained the height of printing mastery. In the same year, the studio began a fruitful collaboration with the editor Tériade, founder of the legendary review Verve. It was then that Mourlot assisted Matisse, Braque, Bonnard, Rouault and Miró in the creation of important lithographs for the six editions after the Second World War.

"Among all the different techniques for illustrating text, the lithograph is perhaps the one that best complements poetry." - Paul Valéry

While some of the most beautiful art books by modern painters were produced on the rue Chabrol; the lithograph would remain an art form for initiates, not reaching its full embodiment until after the liberation.

In 1945, Pablo Picasso walked into the Mourlot studio. With his graphic genius and prodigious inventiveness, Picasso proceeded to lend a new dimension to the lithographic process as well as his own art. "He came like he was going to battle," Mourlot remarked, a battle that would last four months and be repeated at different points during the next several years. A corner of the studio became Picasso's private domain and there he created nearly four hundred lithographs between 1945 and 1969. Bolstered by the press-operators Tutins and Célestin, he worked mercilessly, inventing the most complex and extravagant techniques, the inherent difficulties of which were dissolved in the man's customary brio. Such display of artistic liberty from this period can be seen in "La Colombe de la Paix."

In 1967, Fernand's son Jacques Mourlot was designated by his father to pioneer the family name and opened a branch of the studio on Bank Street in New York City. It was here that the infamous print shop's legacy continued, collaborating with artists such as Rauschenberg, Bacon, Lichtenstein, Calder, Kelly, and Katz to produce contemporary lithographic masterpieces. While the studio closed in 1999, the works and the process established by its inception remain accessible through Galerie Mourlot.

As a child, Eric Mourlot participated in the printing process, soon becoming enthralled with his surroundings in the printshop. It became a source of inspiration for him, quickly igniting a passion for the relationships and collaborations that took place between artists, printers, gallerists, and publishers. Today, 164 years later, Mourlot continues to promote the art of publishing and printing that his family pioneered.

Mourlot's history denotes a relationship and connection between the process and art form of lithography with contemporary and modern art. An exchange and legacy he strives to strengthen and share by discussing and exchanging ideas surrounding art as the ultimate form of expression and an integral platform for progress and change.