Marc Chagall (1887–1985) is one of the most famous and important artists of the twentieth century. The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is presenting a monographic exhibition on the work of the Russian-French painter. The exhibition features approximately 100 paintings and works on paper from all periods, with a focus on the early works created between 1910 and 1923. Chagall’s works are characterized by bright, intense colors. His fantastic, poetic imagery is fascinating, and his motifs remain enigmatic to this day. As a young artist, he experimented with Fauvism and Cubism, combining the new styles with Jewish motifs and Russian folklore. This was unique in his time and made him the “wunderkind of modernism.”
Growing up in the small town of Vitebsk (in present-day Belarus) as the eldest child of an Orthodox Jewish family, Chagall reflected on his origins throughout his life. His paintings tell of everyday life and customs, but also of ostracism and pogroms. They deal with the trauma of persecution, but also with the dream of a better life.
The exhibition aims not only to show the influence of avant-garde painting on Chagall’s early work. It is also about discovering the lesser known dark and critical sides of the artist, which are still relevant today. The dreamlike worlds that Chagall created in his paintings were not only poetically charged fairytales. They also contained biting criticism of the social conditions of the time.
Throughout his life, Chagall combined his motifs with his personal experiences. In the works created between the 1960s and the 1980s, he also reflected on the stages of his life and reacted sensitively to social developments and world events as a whole. Vitebsk and Paris increasingly became places of longing, and Christ, the crucified Jew, a symbol of suffering.
The exhibition is a collaboration between the ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna, and the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf.
Reaching us
K20
Grabbeplatz 5
40213 Düsseldorf
Bus stop:
Heinrich-Heine-Allee
Opening hours
Tuesday – Sunday, public holiday
11 am – 6 pm
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Tel +49 (0) 211 8381-204
service@kunstsammlung.de
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