Discovering the Artist

Marc Chagall 

Marc Chagall was born in modern day Belarus, in 1887. He was a Russian-French-Jewish artist of international repute who, arguably, was one of the most influential modernist artists of the 20th Century, both as an early modernist, and as an important part of the Jewish artistic tradition. His art depicts a romantic form of symbolism, dreams take flight in his paintings. It is as if you are watching him day dream visually.

QUESTIONS to CONSIDER:

1. Do you dream in color or black and white? If you dream in color it is a symbol of having a close relationship with your mother. If you dream in black and white it shows that you have a lot of movement in your life, that it is filled up or that your mind is filled to the edge and over flowing.

2. How does the blue color make you feel?

3. What symbols would represent your life up to this point?

Chagall’s Dreamer was completed just one year after the death of his wife, Bella. It was one of the first paintings executed during his struggle to come to terms with his devastating loss. The painting, a vivid representation of the artist’s dreams, displays Chagall’s unique and passionate style through his trademark layering of colors and use of symbolism. As a bride and groom float above a basket of fruit, a traditional symbol of youth and fertility, a couple of lovers lie beneath it, having consummated their love. Though Chagall often painted images of Jewish brides as a way of honoring his beloved wife, these commemorations took on a more ethereal tone after her passing. The image of a goat outlined on the side of the fruit basket symbolizes vitality—an affirmation of life despite death’s recent triumph.

Marc Chagall lived to be 90. In the above painting we see his homage to his wife painted a year after she died. In the video below we can see her being the translator from French to English for Chagall in an interview. The question is to what does he owe a long life to?

Assignment: Observe the adjectives used by Chagall first in English and then in French, they will have more meaning when observed in the context of his art and life.

unique = unique dreamer=rêveur influential =influents romantic=romantique

symbolism= symbolisme devastating=dévastateur beloved=bien-aimé vitality=vitalité

Chagall led a bohemian lifestyle, exchanging ideas with the avant-garde artists who had gathered in Paris. By 1927, the year he painted Bouquet of Flowers with Lovers, he had become an international success. The painting is a nocturnal version of a theme Chagall examined several times—pairing a set of lovers, this time a bride and a groom, with a large bouquet of flowers in eye-popping colors. The cow playing the violin in the foreground of this poetic, dreamlike scene most likely symbolizes abundance, a common wish for newly married couples.