Marc Chagall Museum in Nice: Biblical stories

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The art of Marc Chagall can be compared to the whole universe, because the characters in his paintings travel from one masterpiece to another, now and then finding themselves in unusual circumstances. And the artist himself, during his lifetime, sought to travel around the world in order to know its diversity. Expositions of these amazing paintings can be seen in Europe and America. However, the National Museum of Marc Chagall in Nice, the photo of which you see below, represents the largest collection of his works.

What is interesting about the famous museum?

It was opened in 1973, when the artist was still alive. The collection is based on 17 thematic paintings included in the "Bible message" cycle. More than 300 works are also united by religious themes - they are a preparatory stage for the main canvases. Among the paintings there are graphics, sketches, sculptures, engravings, lithography, embroidery, copper engraved boards, works made in oil and gouache. The Marc Chagall Museum replenishes its collection so far, since the artist himself tookactive participation in her collection - gave his paintings until the end of his life.

Pictures that speak an unknown language

The work of Marc Chagall is not easy to understand. He has a special artistic style, his paintings are permeated with motives of religious and philosophical content, there are allusions (hints) to his own life experience. Although a number of the artist's works seem inaccessible to perception, the Marc Chagall Museum still attracts art connoisseurs with its mysteriousness. Let's try and we think, reflect on his canvases.

The Biblical Message series was first presented to the public in 1966 at the Louvre, after which the artist presented these paintings to the French government. Marc Chagall's friend and Minister of Culture André Maldraux ordered the creation of a separate museum complex for them.

In Marc Chagall's painting, religious themes occupy a significant place, and the cycle reflected it most fully. The parents of the future artist were devout, so the boy keenly felt the whole essence of Judaism. He began to create illustrations for the Bible early, but only after the Second World War did the religious theme of his paintings develop significantly.

Bible Message

Chagall "Bible Message" began to create in the 50s of the XX century, working in the town of Vence (France). This cycle was supposed to have an effect aimed at the revival of the forgotten and empty chapel of the Rosary. But approaching the end of his life, the artist felt that the resulting paintings have a universal humanistic orientation. So he decided to donate them to the French government.

There are two parts in the cycle: twelve paintings. All of them are illustrations for the chapters of the Bible "Genesis" and "Exodus". They depict moments of iconic relationship between God and man. An interesting fact is that Chagall himself made decisions about the location of the paintings in the gallery. He deliberately abandoned the chronological order, replacing it with formal and religious correspondences.

The Creation of Man painting

The Marc Chagall Museum keeps in the large hall a picture that invariably attracts the attention of visitors - "The Creation of Man". Initially, the artist planned to place it on the altar of the chapel, which is why two plans are so clearly traced in it, which is fully consistent with the altar compositions - heavenly and earthly. The lower part shows an angel carrying Adam in his arms, who had just been taken from the depths of the primary ocean, where he was with the animals. In the upper right corner, the sun is depicted, around which there are people - this is how the artist imagined the course of the ordinary life of the simple Jewish people. The crucified Jew Jesus is depicted, who was doomed to torture by his compatriots.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

The Marc Chagall Museum also contains within its walls a work called "The Sacrifice of Isaac", which shows an episode from the Bible when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son. The canvas, as in the previous case, is divided into two zones: at the top, the sky withsoaring angels, below a terrible scene. The figures of the characters are only outlined along the contour against the background of large color spots, which gives the plot a certain meaning. An angel is depicted on blue - it symbolizes the Divine word given from heaven. In the upper right corner there is a story from the Bible about the sufferings of the descendants of Abraham, the artist constantly reminds of them. In his canvases, there are often figures of mothers with babies, as well as scenes of the suffering of the crucified Christ, which Chagall focuses on the hardships suffered by the Jewish people. The lower part of the picture shows the flames of the Holocaust, in which Abraham and Isaac are conditionally located.

The general idea of these two paintings, according to Chagall's vision, is the submission of man to God. In addition to those listed, other paintings are presented by the Marc Chagall Museum in Nice.

How to get to the museum?

To get into it, you need to make a trip to the famous Mediterranean city. The Marc Chagall Museum in Nice has the following address: 36 avenue Docteur Ménard. The ticket price for the permanent exhibition is 6.5 euros, to visit the permanent and temporary exhibition, you need to pay 7.7 euros. The Marc Chagall Museum in Nice, whose opening hours are from November to April from 10 am to 5 pm and from May to October from 10 am to 6 pm, can also be visited free of charge. This is allowed for the unemployed, students and children under 18 years of age. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, holidays are also closed: January 1, May 1, December 25.

In the artist's work, the ancientJewish traditions and innovative ideas. He lived a long (almost 100 years) and fruitful life, often changing countries and cities. But from the pictures we can judge that the national identity was always present in him, while he remained a person living outside of time and geographical boundaries.