Marc Chagall
World in Turmoil
Marc Chagall, Around Her, 1945, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle, Gift of the artist, 1953, Photo: CNAC-MNAM/Philippe Migeat
© BONO / Chagall ®
The exhibition sheds light on a highly topical, but little known side to Marc Chagall – his works from the 1930s and ‘40s, when his colourful palette took on a darker hue.
Dette kunstneriske universet er så fullt av skjønnhet, vitalitet og oppdrift at jeg [...] går derifra og kjenner meg beriket og løftet!
Marc Chagall is one of the most famous of Europe’s early modernist artists. He distinguished himself in many areas: as a painter, graphic artist, stage set designer and producer of decorative arts and crafts. The works of this multi-talented Jewish artist are often described as poetic, dreamlike and fantastical. Despite all the fantastical elements in his pictures, Chagall's art is always closely linked to his own personal experiences. This is particularly noticeable in the works he produced in the 1930s and 1940s, including those on display in this exhibition.
The life and works of Marc Chagall were deeply influenced by the Nazis’ attitude to art, and the Holocaust. In the early 1930s, his works explored the increasingly aggressive anti-Semitism in Europe. In 1941, he was smuggled out of France and sought refuge in the USA. During these years, his works touch on important contemporary themes, such as identity, homeland and exile.
Marc Chagall, The Black Glove, 1923-1948, Private collection, Photo: Archives Marc et Ida Chagall, © BONO / Chagall ®
The exhibition comprises over 50 paintings and works on paper. It presents important works from the 1930s, a period when Chagall focused more and more on the Jewish world and turned towards allegorical and biblical themes. The exhibition also addresses the feeling of loss and the nostalgia he felt for his home town, Vitebsk, now in present-day Belarus.
This exhibition also gives the public a unique opportunity to experience Chagall as a costume designer, through eight of the costumes he designed for the ballet “Aleko” (1942) while he was living in exile in the USA.
Marc Chagall, Solitude, 1933, Collection Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Gift of the artist, through the State of Israel, 1953, Photo: Tel Aviv Museum of Art, © BONO / Chagall ®
The exhibition is organised by Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt in cooperation with Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.
The exhibition's works have been lent by a number of international museums, as well as public and private art collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris; Moderna Museet in Stockholm; Musée National Marc Chagall in Nice; Estate Ida Chagall/Michel Brodsky, Paris/Basel; Sprengel Museum Hannover; Tel Aviv Museum of Art; and the Tate Modern in London.
The exhibition is curated by Caroline Ugelstad and Dr. Ilka Voermann.
- Marc Chagall – World in Turmoil
-
Marc Chagall
-
Caroline Ugelstad and Dr. Ilka Voermann
-
Utstillingsprodusent: Silje Hammer
Intern konservator: Hilde Berteig Rustan
Ekstern konservator: Benedicte Nilssen
Museumsteknisk leder: Hans Christian Skui Lindvig
Museumsteknisk team: Dorthe Håker, Sjur Kleiven, Live Haug Hilton, Martin Bech-Ravn, Martine Eid Frisch, Tiago Bom Da Silva og Noah Bournane Bakke.
Publikasjonsansvarlig: Karen Monica Reini
Utstillingsdesign: Andrea Pinochet.
Design: Håkon Stensholt, ANTI
Kommunikasjonsansvarlig: Therese Manus
Kommunikasjonsrådgiver: Liv Holte Steine
Digital markedsføring: Daniel Weiseth Kjellesvik
Marc Chagall in New York, 1941, Photo: Fred Stein. © Fred Stein Archive
