Chagall, Marc Russian/French (1887-1985) DEUX AMANTS ET LA LUNE ( Couple and Moon), circa 1930 oil on canvas signed: lower right, Marc Chagall H16.5in W10.75in *Provenance: George Turecy Mr. & Mrs. Otto Preminger, Malibu, California Nicolas M. Acquavella, NY Private collector, Texas The present owner Frank Kelly, Jr. *Exhibited: The Pasadena Museum, 70th Anniversary Exhibition: Chagall, ref. #48. 1957 noted as being lent by Mr. And Mrs. Otto Preminger. *Literature: Meyer Franz. MARC CHAGALL, Harry H. Abrams, Inc. New York 1963. no.553 ( reproduced). Executed circa 1930, Deux Amants Et La Luna is one of many of Chagall's lovers. The painting was done at a time in Chagall's career when he had moved back to Paris, after having returned to Russia during WWI. Most of his paintings left in Paris were looted in the war, and the artist tried to recapture many of the paintings from memory, from photographs, and sometimes from the original. His move back to Paris marked a change in his art as he developed new artistic interests, such as nature. During this period from the 20s through the 40s, in Paris, Chagall painted various subjects: clowns, flowers, lovers, and illustrations for Gogol's Dead Souls and the Bible. Seen in the context of these diverse themes, Deux Amants Et La Luna takes on a greater significance, as one may see these other interests in the painting. The figures mask-like faces with white faces, dark eyes, and rose-red lips having a clownish quality. The garish colors recall such clown paintings as Le piste du cirque. Deux Amants Et La Luna, however does not capture all that the circus images capture; the circus images, while celebrating life, also have a disturbing quality about them. Deux Amants Et La Luna retains the life-affirming tone but not the disquieting attribute. Furthermore, Deux Amants Et La Luna references the flowers that Chagall was painting concurrently in that it conveys the same tender quality. The figure on the right looks up at the central figure, who is resting a hand on the former's shoulder. The moon shines benevolently upon them. The atmospheric quality Chagall is so known for is evident. Deux Amants Et La Luna has been owned, among others, by Mr. And Mrs. Otto Preminger; Mr. Preminger was best known for directing and producing movies from the 1950s through the 1970s. Mr. and Mrs. Preminger lent the painting to Pasadena Museum in 1957 for 70th Anniversary Exhibition: Chagall. The Pasadena Museum, now known as the Norton Simon Museum, was founded as the Pasadena Art Institute in 1922, and exhibited 19th century American and European art. It has since been through several names and now exhibits modern art. The Acquavella Galleries of New York was founded in 1925 by Nicolas M. Acquavella, and features a variety of 19th and 20th century art. It is assumed that the Acquavella Galleries were responsible for reproducing Deux Amants Et La Luna in Franz Meyer's Marc Chagall, published in German in the 1960s and subsequently sold it to a private collector in Texas.