by Marc Zakharovich Chagall (born Moishe Zakharovich Shagal)
from France
Marc Chagall was one of the greatest European modernists of the 20th century. He was born in 1887 in Vitebsk, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire). As a young artist, he saw the Hasidic traditions of his Jewish heritage disappearing, and chose to memorialize them in his art. He learned to paint in Vitebsk, and had a major shift as so many artists did when he went to Paris in 1910. It changes his use of color and was a source of inspiration for his work. He also met and was influenced by many literary figures, such as Fernand Léger, Blaise Cendrars and Guillaume Apollinaire, as well as artists Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani and Robert Delaunay.
Chagall's work had many influences, including Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism. He is known for his use of color and original, whimsical imagery. While many modernist paintings approached their work theoretically, Chagall's work had a strong human quality to it. He once said, "Only love interests me, and I am only in contact with things that revolve around love."
"Bella with a White Collar" is a portrait of Belarusian writer Bella Rosenfeld, his first wife, painted in 1917. They fell in love at first sight. Of Bella he said: "Her silence is mine, her eyes mine. It is as if she knows everything about my childhood, my present, my future, as if she can see right through me." Bella was the subject of many of Chagall's paintings. Their daughter Ida was born a year before he made this painting.
As you look at the painting, what emotions do you think her facial expression expresses? How do the colors make you feel? Are the lines in the painting hard or soft?
What is Bella looking at? Do you notice the two small figures sitting at the bottom of the painting?
Notice what how large her figure is compared to the rest of the elements in the. Is this realistic? Why do you think he chose to make the landscape and people smaller?
