Chagall: The Falling Angel

by Marc Chagall

An examination into Chagall's work, "The Falling Angel," reveals the Russian artist's poor upbring and early interest in art and imagination, and notes the people, places, and events that influenced his work.

Genres: Banned Books, Art

48 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 1999

About the author

Marc Chagall born Moishe Shagal (6 July 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist of Jewish ancestry.

An early modernist, Chagall was associated with the École de Paris, as well as 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.

Chagall lived in France and Russia for decades but in 1941, he settled in New York, which was full of writers, painters, and composers who, like himself, had fled from Europe during the Nazi invasions.

After the war, he chose to return to France and spent his last years living in the Côte d'Azur.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Examination of Chagall's painting "Falling Angel" in terms of his biography and the development of his his art.



This painting is a good choice for study not only because it is complex and includes many tropes found throughout his oeuvre, but because his work on it spanned over two decades (1923 to 1947).

Here is a poem about Chagall by his close friend, poet Blaise Cendrars.

Il dort
Il est éveillé
Tout à coup, il peint
Il prend une église et peint avec une église
Il prend une vache et peint avec une vache
Avec une sardine
Avec des têtes, des mains, des couteaux
Il peint avec un nerf de bœuf
Il peint avec toutes les sales passions d’une petite ville juive
Avec toute la sexualité exacerbée de la province russe
Pour la France
Sans sensualité
Il peint avec ses cuisses
Il a les yeux au cul
Et c’est tout à coup votre portrait
C’est toi lecteur
C’est moi
C’est lui
C’est sa fiancée
C’est l’épicier du coin
La vachère
La sage-femme
Il y a des baquets de sang
On y lave les nouveaux-nés
Des ciels de folie
Bouches de modernité
La Tour en tire-bouchon
Des mains
Le Christ
Le Christ c’est lui
Il a passé son enfance sur la croix
Il se suicide tous les jours
Tout à coup, il ne peint plus
Il était éveillé
Il dort maintenant
Il s’étrangle avec sa cravate
Chagall est étonné de vivre encore