Flying goats and lovers who float. In his works of art, Marc Chagall creates magical worlds that touch people. Born in Russia, he moved to Paris for four years in 1910, where he came into contact with artists associated with modern French art movements such as Fauvism and Cubism. Chagall was inspired by the works of Henri Matisse, Paul Gaugin and Vincent Van Gogh, whose style of bold colors he adopted. Through his friendship with the cubist painter Robert Delauney, he is inspired to incorporate abstract elements into some of his paintings. However, he will never paint completely abstract.
Although his style is unique, he is usually counted among the style of representational expressionism. For many, however, he is also considered a pre-surrealist because of his supernatural dream worlds.
In 1887 he was born to Jewish Hasidic parents, which is why Jewish mythology appears again and again in his paintings. In 1918, in Vitebsk, Russia, he was appointed commissioner of fine arts and founded an art academy. He brings major Russian artists such as Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitzky, and Ivan Albertovich Puni to the city. Due to conflicts with Malevich, he moved to Moscow in 1920, where he found employment at the Jewish Theater as a set and costume designer and mural painter. In the 1930s, he traveled extensively to Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Poland, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands for his most famous work, the Bible illustrations. In 1941 he was invited to exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. During the Second World War he lives in exile in the USA. With exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and Museé Nationale d’Art Moderne Avantgarde in Paris in 1946, his reputation as a pioneer of modernism is cemented. In 1949 he returned to his adopted country, France, where he died in 1985. Throughout his life, he inspired people with his poetic masterpieces. In addition, he is also a publicist, draftsman, engraver, illustrator, ceramist and sculptor.
Le Magicien de Paris II / The Magician of Paris II
The ANNELIESE DESCHAUER Gallery exhibits the artwork “The Wizard of Paris II” by Marc Chagall. The work is a color lithograph. It was created between 1966 and 1970 and shows a clown on the right side. This one holds a bouquet of flowers in his hands and floats above the red city backdrop of Paris. On the left you can see the Eiffel Tower and above it dancing people. The Wizard of Paris is representative of the magic and beauty of the city. Marc Chagall has a special relationship with France. Although he was born in Russia, his first encounter with the art city of Paris won’t let him go. There he develops his own style. His love of Paris is evident in his works: for example, he often uses the French colors blue, red, and white, stages the Eiffel Tower as a symbol of freedom, and says, “Paris lit up my dark world like the sun.” Besides Russia, it is France that has had a lasting influence on his work.
