"In Tarkhov’s dining room".
Marc Chagall. Pencils, ink and gouache on paper, 13.3 x 20.6 cm. 1911.
Pompidou Center, Paris.
"В столовой у Тархова."
Марк Шагал. Бумага, карандаш, чернила, гуашь, 13,3 x 20,6 см. 1911 г.
Центр Помпиду, Париж.
In 1911, Marc Chagall visited Nicolas Tarkhoff and drew the family members. Two sketches (1), stored in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, illustrate the bond of friendship that Chagall and Tarkhoff maintained before the First World War.
These two moving drawings by Chagall, signed, dated 1911 and titled in Cyrillic cursive script by the artist, come from a private collection. They were acquired by payment in kind in 1988 by the Centre Pompidou and are now kept in the storehouse of its Cabinet of Graphic Art.
"In Tarkhov's dining room": Chagall, who is standing at the end of the dining room in all likelihood, reproduces the decor of the room. With a cursive gestures, he makes a first draft in black pencil. The table, originally located at the center of the sheet, finds its place a few millimeters higher. The same holds true for other furniture elements which eventually freeze under the violet ink.
The room is soberly furnished: a dresser in the background, a chair on the side, a fireplace where a fire is burning on the left, a flower-shaped sofa on the right. On the round table with three feet and covered with a red tablecloth, a bowl of fruits and two cups of coffee. The floor is covered with large red tiles, probably in terracotta. The only decoration are two framed paintings hanging on the wall above the dresser—a still-life is visible on the one—, another one without frame, depicting a character, is hanged at the left of the sofa. Photographs or small paintings are placed on the fireplace mantel shelf; we distinguish a mother and child painting and some portraits. Mrs. Tarkhoff is wearing a blue blouse and a black skirt. She is sitting on a stool and is warming up near the fire; perhaps is she falling asleep. Tarkhoff, wearing his inseparable hat, an elbow on the table and his head resting in his right hand, seems pensive, unless he is dozing. Boris, his youngest son, is sitting to his right, while the eldest, Jean, has fallen asleep on the sofa. Here, Chagall interprets a scene in which the actors surrender to melancholy, reverie or sleep.
(1) Invited to Tarkhov's. Marc Chagall. Pencils, ink and gouache on paper, 13,3 x 20,6 cm. 1911.
https://www.centrepompidou.fr/cpv/ressource.action?param.id=FR_R-97833c3...
In Tarkhov’s dining room. Marc Chagall. Pencils, ink and gouache on paper, 13,3 x 20,6 cm. 1911.
https://www.centrepompidou.fr/cpv/ressource.action?param.id=FR_R-a430959...