MARC СHAGALL | artmerchfair.org

MARC CHAGALL

Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal (1887 – 1985) was a Russian-French artist of Belarusian Jewish origin. An early modernist, he was associated with several major artistic styles and created works in a wide range of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints.

According to art historian Michael J. Lewis, Chagall was considered to be "the last survivor of the first generation of European modernists". For decades, he "had also been respected as the world's pre-eminent Jewish artist". Using the medium of stained glass, he produced windows for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, windows for the UN and the Art Institute of Chicago and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. He also did large-scale paintings, including part of the ceiling of the Paris Opéra.

Daphnis and Chloe Series»

He devoted a full decade to ceramics in which he produced an impressive 220 works. Sculpture and ceramics are in complete harmony with the artist's will. Chagall, unlike most artists, was not content with decorating pieces made by professional potters. He himself moulded his clay and created original forms, thus becoming - unusually - a painter sculpting in ceramic.

He was a natural technician and produced outstanding lithographs, etchings and stained glass, ceramics and sculptures, stage sets and designs. He was described as being in love with his trade.