Marc Chagall1887-1985

• Grew up in a Russian shtetl (village) in a large close-knit Jewish family.

• Studied art in St. Petersburg and was the victim of anti-Semitism.

• Actively participated in the Russian Revolution.

• Became a French citizen, but fled the Nazies during WWII for the United States.

Rain (La Pluie), 1911. Oil (and charcoal?) on canvas, 86.7 x 108 cm.

I and the Village, 1911, Oil on canvas, 6' 3 5/8" x 59 5/8"

Chagall dramatically expressed his feelings about his personal experiences through:

• Symbolic imagery• Unexpected colors• Unrealistic sizes and

proportions• Odd juxtapositions• Simplified-looking,

gravity-defying drawings

Paris Through the Window, 1913. Oil

on canvas, 53 1/2 x 55 3/4 inches

“If a symbol should be discovered in a painting of mine, it was not my intention.”

The Soldier Drinks (Le Soldat boit), 1911–12. Oil on canvas, 43 x 37 1/4 inches

• Here Chagall remembers tsarist soldiers who were billeted with families.

• The geometric planes show the influence of the Cubist painters in Paris.

Green Violinist (Violiniste), 1923–24. Oil on canvas, 78 x 42 3/4 inches

• The Chabad Hasidim believed it possible to achieve communion with God through music and dance.

• The fiddler was a vital presence in ceremonies and festivals.

• What techniques does Chagall use to make the violinist the focal point of this painting?

The White Curcifixion, 1938. oil on canvas, 60 ¾ x 55 inches.

• Here symbols of Jewish suffering surround a Crucifix.

• How is this painting different from The Green Violinist?

• How is it similar?

Around Her, 1945, oil on canvas, 51 ½ x 43 inches.

• This deeply personal remembrance of his wife Bella was painted more than nine months after her death.

• Can you identify symbols of grief? Of hope?