Collection: Chagall Marc

(Liozna 1887 - St. Paul de Vence 1985)

The stylistic constant of all Marc Chagall's art is undoubtedly the dreamlike, colorful and symbolic dimension in which his memories and his Jewish and Russian soul merge. In particular, it is the world of his childhood, spent between fields and synagogues, the source of inspiration for all his works.
In Paris, where he moved to study thanks to the help of a patron, he came into contact with all the avant-garde movements, from surrealism to cubism to expressionism and the Fauves , without ever fully adhering to any of them. He met Apollinaire and Robert and Sonia Delaunay, created his first masterpieces and participated several times in the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants.
He returned to Russia, where he was caught by the war. During this period he devoted himself to the creation of his first etchings and decorations, costumes and scenography for the Jewish Theater, as well as to the writing of his autobiography.
He moved to Berlin and then back to Paris, where he created his first illustrations for some literary works published by Tériade. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, obtained French citizenship and the main museums organized his personal exhibitions. However, this period of serenity vanished with the intensification of anti-Semitism: his paintings were banned from German museums and requisitioned. He then took refuge in New York, where he designed stage sets and costumes for the theatre.
He finally settled in Provence and began engraving again, especially lithographs, such as those for the magazine Derrière le miroir published by the publisher Maeght.
In 1969, a retrospective was held in Paris with a record number of almost 500 of his works. In 1973, the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall was inaugurated in Nice, the only museum entirely dedicated to a living artist at the time.