Up: [[Artists and Art Movements]] Created: 2023-04-03 > [!orbit] Marc Chagall >If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; > if from the head, almost nothing. # Chagall’s Life Chagall followed his own path. There’s an excellent [biography](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-elusive-marc-chagall-95114921/) in Smithsonian magazine, and a [timeline and some of his images](https://www.theartstory.org/artist/chagall-marc/) in ArtStory. Some highlights - His career spanned 75 years until his death at age 97 - He was prolific. 10,000 works in those 75 years - His parents ‘sort of’ were Hasidic Jews so there were no images in his house growing up. But he was so determined to be an artist that he bugged his mother to enrol him in a local art school and then went on to a variety of other art schools in his teens and early 20’s. But he always wanted to paint his way and insisted on doing so. The public liked his work, the critics didn’t. - Chagall’s Jewish identity was important to him, although he occasionally painted Christian themes because he was so into narrative and allegory. - Chagall had a style that was his own and that included elements of the styles of Cubism, Fauvism, Symbolism and Surrealism. - He was born in Russia, lived some years in the United States, but Paris was his favourite place in the world. # What I Enjoy in Chagall’s Art - Chagall made extensive use of personal symbolism. People are still trying to figure it out. He didn’t explain, didn’t take his paintings apart to make them easier for other people. - His paintings are narratives, full of [[Symbols]], [[Metaphor]] and[[ dreams]]. - His colours are gorgeous and light-filled. - He used gouache and watercolour, as well as other mediums. # Some Favourite Pieces Paris through the Window 1913 ![[Chagall - Paris Through the Window.webp|500]] Over the Town 1918 ![[Chagall - Over the Town 1918.webp|500]] The Dream, 1939 ![[Chagall - The Dream 1939.webp|500]] Ebony Horse/Arabian Nights 1948 ![[Chagall — Ebony Horse Arabian Nights 1948.webp|500]]