“Despite all the troubles of our world, in my heart I have never given up on the love in which I was brought up or on man’s hope in love. In life, just as on the artist’s palette, there is but one single colour that gives meaning to life and art – the colour of love”. - Marc Chagall
Positioned at the forefront of multiple artistic movements that defined European Modernism, Marc Chagall was an integral figure in the development of art in the Early Modern period. Best known for his painting and printmaking, his works are inviting and whimsical, depicting a range of subjects rooted in folklore and his own personal history. Underlying all of this, though, is the artist’s distinctive romantic attitude toward life and the world around him, which colors his work with an unmistakable sense of wonder and warmth that sets his work apart.
Capturing romance came as second nature to Chagall. Reflecting upon his mindset as a young man first breaking into the art world, Chagall once said “...I preferred dreaming about love and painting it in my pictures.” Indeed, looking at Chagall’s work, love is littered throughout his compositions. Whether it is lovers loitering in the midst of sensational landscapes or flying hand in hand through city skies, the artist’s explicit fascination with romance and longing are on display. In addition, Chagall’s compositions are ruled by his emotions, the elements of his paintings placed with sentimentality, rather than logic, in mind.
Undoubtedly, Chagall’s unparalleled ability to capture romance stems from personal experience with his own great love, his wife Bella. Bella, a talented writer from Chagall’s hometown of Vitebsk, described their first meeting with a beautiful eloquence: “When you did catch a glimpse of his eyes, they were as blue as if they’d fallen straight out of the sky. They were strange eyes … long, almond-shaped … and each seemed to sail along by itself, like a little boat.” Chagall returned the favor by constantly depicting Bella in his paintings, even after her death. She acted as his muse and motivator, and Chagall, never wanting to be separated from her, often depicted himself intertwined with her, the two of them just as in love on paper or canvas as in real life. The impact of Bella’s appearances in his work is striking because of the emotional honesty with which he portrays their bond—Chagall’s depictions of romance are illustrations of his ties to Bella, one of art history’s greatest love stories.
Guillaume Apollinaire once described Chagall’s style as supernatural; it is clear that the fantastical, dream-like elements of his work were deeply rooted in his romantic imagination. Chagall described his approach by saying “If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.” It makes perfect sense, then, that Chagall channeled a romantic vision about life and the world around him in his art. Chagall’s love for the world around him drove his own art practice, and in turn, drove all of modern art forward at its most pivotal moments, making these Chagall works a marvelous addition to any art lover’s collection.
View our collection of selected curated works. This Marc Chagall sale focuses on iconic subjects; The French Riviera, The Opera, Lovers, Bouquets, all created by Marc Chagall with romance and love in his heart. As he did his entire career.
View the Marc Chagall Sale below, if any artworks interest you, please feel free to contact us for additional images, details and with any questions.
