Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Chasing Chagall

"Perhaps my art is a wild art, 
a blazing mercury,
a blue soul leaping up on my canvases."
~ Marc Chagall


So, I am six weeks into my Studying the Masters
class and this week we are studying Chagall.
 
 
Chagall is another one of my art favorites.
Who can resist the vibrant colors, layers of
symbolism, and childlike joy.
 
 
Chris and I got to visit The Musee National
Marc Chagall while staying in Nice.  For me it was
one of the highlights of the trip.  It is one thing to
look at his paintings in a book....but to see them
in person is absolutely stunning.
 
 
"We are on our way and our hearts start to beat
in colors of green and purple...."
~ Marc Chagall
 
 
The museum houses the largest collection of works
by the painter, centering on the seventeen large 
canvases that comprise his Biblical Message cycle.
 
 
Chagall was captivated by the poetry of the Bible from
a young age.  He also drew inspiration from his Jewish roots
and filled his canvases with personalized imagery, radiant color,
and infused it with his mythical world.  You can see the impact 
of cubism in his work and yet it has an ethereal quality.


"When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter
left who understands what color really is."
~ Pablo Picasso



"In Art as in life, everything is possible if,
deep down, there is Love."
~ Marc Chagall