MARC CHAGALL
Marc Chagall (1887-1985), is considered one of the great masters of the School of Paris, acclaimed as a forerunner of Surrealism and an early pioneer of Modernism. In a career spanning more than 70 years, Chagall worked in virtually every artistic medium: painting, drawing, set design, ceramics, tapestries, engraving, pottery, sculpture and stained glass. Chagall’s work is grounded in his Jewish heritage and formative years in Belarus overflowing with Russian-Jewish iconography. It also reflects the turmoil surrounding World War II, the horrors experienced by the Jews and the artist’s own displacement.
Chagall’s artistic oeuvre and expressive lyricism is emotionally charged, full of rich imagery, and is profoundly thematic. The works are vibrant and powerful but also dreamlike and whimsical. The artist’s unique style incorporates elements of Cubism, Fauvism, Symbolism, and Surrealism, but defy definition or classification.
Marc Chagall became one of the few artists to receive a retrospective at the Louvre in Paris. Brandeis University awarded Chagall an honorary degree in Laws, the city of Jerusalem bestowed upon him the honor of the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award and the government of France awarded Chagall its highest honor, the Grand-Croix de la Legion d’honneur (Grand Medal of the Legion of Honor).
Chagall’s body of work include large-scale commissions around the world: stained glass windows for Stain-Etienne Cathedral in Metz, France, the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, All Saint’s Church in Mainz, Germany, and the synagogue at the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem along with tapestries for the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, ceiling frescoes for the Paris Opera House, and murals for the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Marc Chagall’s timeless masterpieces are a rich and inspirational legacy that continue to influence the world of 20th Century modern art.
In 1910 he moved to Paris where he was exposed to Fauvism and Cubism and formed friendships with artists La Fresnaye, Delaunay, and Modigliani. His first one-man show in Herwarth Walden’s Der Sturm Gallery in Berlin established him as a leading artist.
Chagall returned home to Vitebsk and became director of the Vitebsk Academy of Arts. In 1920 he moved to Moscow and worked on set designs and painted panels for the avant-garde Jewish Theatre. In addition to painting, he continued to create visual engravings.
Chagall traveled extensively and settled in France despite the growing Nazi Anti-Semitism. At the invitation of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City he was able to bring his family to the US in 1941. His paintings were exhibited widely in New York, Chicago, and Paris and in 1946 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City held a retrospective exhibition showcasing 40 years of the artist’s work.
Chagall returned to Paris in 1948 and finally settled in St. Paul de Vence. In addition to painting, Chagall explored a multitude of mediums including stained glass, ceramics, sculptures, mosaics, and tapestries. He designed sets and costumes for the ballet Daphne and Chloe at the Paris Opera. He was awarded numerous public commissions: stained glass windows in Metz, Hebrew University Synagogue and Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, United Nations Headquarters, frescoes for the ceiling of the Opera House in Paris, and murals at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Chagall’s works were exhibited at the Louvre and Petit Palais in Paris and he was one of only a few artists to have a retrospective at the Louvre in 1977. In that same year he created America Windows for America’s Bicentennial celebration in gratitude to America rescuing his family in WWII.
Marc Chagall died March 28, 1985 in St. Paul de Vence. Acknowledged as a pioneer of many artistic styes, he remains one of the most admired artists of the twentieth century. His rich legacy of work is celebrated worldwide.
2019 – Sogno e Magia (Dream and Magic), Palazzo Albergati, Bologna, Italy
2019 – Exhibition Works Marc Chagall, New Jerusalem, Moscow, Russia
2019 – Museo Ralli Punta del Este, Santiago De Chile, Chile
2018 – Chagall: From Black and White to Colour, Caumont Centre D’Art Aix-En-Provence, France
2018 – Chagall: Stories into Dreams, Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, Florida
2018 – Marc Chagall: Bible, Eames Fine Art, London, England
2018 – Chagall. The Breakthrough Years, 1911–1919, Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain
2018 – Marc Chagall: Light and Colour in Southern France, Macao Museum of Art, Macao
2018 – Chagall: Colore Y Magia. Palazzo Mazzetti, Asti, Italy
2017 – Marc Chagall: The Modernity of Decorativeness, Museum Bergruen, Berlin, Germany
2017 – Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio
2017 -Chagall: Fantasies for the Stage, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
2017 – Chagall: Colour and Music, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
2016 – Marc Chagall: Fables, Alon Zakaim Fine Art, London, UK
2015 – Chagall Retrospecitve, Royal Museum of fine Arts Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
2015 – Marc Chagall: The Triumph of Music, Philharmonie de Paris, France
2015 – Marc Chagall: Enchanted Dreams, Opera Gallery, Singapore
2013 – Chagall: Moden Master, Tate, London, UK
2013- Entre guerre et paix ( Chagall Between War and Peace) Musee National du Luxembourg, Paris, France
2013- Love, War and Exile, The Jewish Museum, New York, New York
2013 Chagall: Beyond Color, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas
2012- Nassau County Museum of Art, New York, New York
2010- Novosibirsk Regional Museum, Novosibirsk, Russia
2008- Marc Chagall, MAN – Museo d’Arte di Nuoro, Italy
2007- Chagall of Miracles- Il Complesso del Vittoriano in Rome, Italy
2007- Marc Chagall, The Bible Series, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Baton Rouge, LA
2006- Marc Chagall, Tale Art Museum, Lillestrom
2003- Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris, in conjunction with Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
2001-Early Works from Russian Collections, The Jewish Museum, New York, New York
2011 -Chagall and the Bible -Musée d’art et d’histoire du judaïsme, Paris, France
1985- Marc Chagall: Retrospectives, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1985- Marc Chagall: Retrospectives, Royal Academy, London, UK
1985- The Royal Academy, London, UK
1983- Oeuvres sur papier exhibition: National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
1982- Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden
1977- Marc Chagall: The artist’s work from 1967 to 1977, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
1974- Marc Chagall: Retrospective of engraved works (prints), National Gallery, East Berlin, Germany
1973- Marc Chagall, Musée National Message Biblique, France
1973- Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
1971-The Dynamic Museum, Dakar, Senegal
1970- Hommage a Marc Chagall, Musee du Grand-Palais, Paris, France
1969- Hommage a Marc Chagall, Grand Palais, Paris, France
1967- Message Biblique, Louvre in Paris, France
1967- Zurich, Cologne, Germany
1967- Maeght Foundation, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
1966 Chagall: Aleko, Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
1963- National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan
1959- Museum of Decorative Arts, Palais du Louvre, Paris, France
1951- Chagall: Retrospective, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
1947 -Musee National d’Art Moderne, Paris
1946- Museum of Modern Art, New York
1942 -Artists in Exile,New York, New York
1938 -Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
1933 -Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
1926 -S Reinhardt Gallery, New York, New York
1924 -Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert, Paris, France
1913 -Der Sturm Gallery, Berlin
1912 -Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne, Paris, France
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