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One of the company’s in the team
“Savasen”
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In1962 a deluxe book on the making of the "Jerusalem Windows" was
published by Andre Sauret. Under Chagall's supervision,
Charles Sorlier produced twelve 20-color stone
lithographs for the series. These were based on Chagall's final models
for the stained glass windows he had designed for The Synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center.
Included in the books publication were two original lithographs (M. 365
and M. 366) by Marc Chagall, also printed by Sorlier at
the Mourlot workshop. "Jerusalem Windows" was published
in an edition of unknown size.
The Synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center was dedicated on February 6th, 1962, as apart of
Hadassah's Golden Anniversary celebration. The Synagogue is illuminated
by a hanging lantern and by sunlight which streams through Marc Chagall's
magnificent stained glass windows. Chagall, who was present at the dedication,
spoke of the joy he felt in bringing "my modest gift to the Jewish
people, who have always dreamt of biblical love, of friendship and peace
among all people; to those people who lived here, thousands of years ago,
among other Semitic people. My hope is that I hereby extend my hand to
seekers of culture, to poets and to artists among the neighboring people." The creation of the Windows was
a labor of love to Chagall and his assistant,
Charles Marq, both of whom worked on the project for two years. Marq developed a special process of veneering pigment which
allowed Chagall to use as many as three colors on
a single uninterrupted pane of glass, rather than being confined to the
traditional technique of separating each color pane
by a thin strip.
The "Jerusalem Windows" lithographs, like the
windows, represent the twelve sons of the Patriarch Jacob, from whom came the Twelve tribes of Israel. Chagall's images are populated by floating
figures of animals, flowers, fish, and numerous Jewish symols. To fully understand the significance of this series,
they must be viewed under Chagall's deep sense of identification with the
whole of the Jewish history, its tragedies and victories, as well as his
own personal background in the village
of Vitebsk, where he
was born and grew up. "All the time I was working, I felt my father
and my mother were looking over my shoulder, and behind them were Jews,
millions of other vanished Jews of yesterday and a thousand years ago." But
it was the Bible that provided his main inspiration, particularly Genesis
49, where Jacob blesses his 12 sons, and Deuteronomy 33, where Moses blesses
the Twelve Tribes. The dominant colors used in
each lithograph are inspired by those blessings as well as by the description
of the breastplate of the High Priest in Exodus 28:15, which was colored gold,
blue, scarlet, and purple, and contained 12 gems including turquoise, emeralds,
sapphires and lapis lazuli.
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The Tribe
of Asher
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.20
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Benjamin
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.23
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Dan
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.18
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Gad
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.19
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Issachar
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.17
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Joseph
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.22
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Judah
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.15
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Levi
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.14
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Naphtali
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.21
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Ruben
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.12
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Simeon
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.13
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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The Tribe
of Zebulum
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
Mourlot c.16
published by Mourlot in 1962
13" x 9"
$400
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Frontispiece
for Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
published by Sauret 1962
Mourlot 365
14" x 10"
$900
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Candlestick
Marc Chagall Color Lithograph
published by Sauret 1962
Mourlot 366
13" x 9"
$700
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