The double-faced man, a goat-headed lover, flying lovers, merry
musicians and the luscious flower bouquets all come from the imaginative mind of the
French-Russian artist Marc Chagall. His images are based on emotional and poetic
associations, rather than on rules of pictorial logic. Known as the “artist of love
and dreams”, his illusory subject-matters are presented in rich colours and in a
fluent, painterly style that — while reflecting an awareness of artistic movements
such as Expressionism, Cubism and even Abstraction — remain invariably personal.
Chagall’s unique style, his masterful understanding of colour and the deep emotional
resonance emanating from his work make him one of the most admired artists throughout the
world and his name lives on as a master in Art History.
“I immerse myself in my reflections, I fly above the world”
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Le Songe 1978 oil on canvas 65 x 53,9 cm (25.6 x 21.2 in)
It was in Paris that Chagall discovered and embraced an all-encompassing
sense
of
colour. He observed it everywhere, from the streets and the sky to artists’ studios and
the
Louvre.
That is where he really found himself artistically and he explained that in Paris he was reborn.
That is
also where he met Pablo Picasso who stated: “I don’t know where he gets those images
from, he
must have an angel in his head”.
“I chose painting because it was just as indispensable to me as all the
food.
It
seemed to me like a window through which I flew into another world.”
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Mimosas et Iris,
circa 1964-1969 mixed media on paper, 63,8 x 60 cm (25.1 x 23.6
in)
Chagall’s life and art together added up to his image of a lonesome
visionary, a
citizen of the world with much of the child still in him, a stranger lost in wonder — an
image
which
the artist would cultivate. He loved life. He loved the circus, he loved the Bible and found the
same human
paradox in both: joy mixed with tragedy, beauty with sadness. The poetic and biblical
inspirations
of
Chagall’s art have always appealed to a broad public, and his works are collected,
exhibited
and
admired all over the world.
Marc Chagall
Les Trois
Acrobates 1959 oil on canvas 100 x 66 cm (39.4 x 26 in)