Art Review: 'La Vie' by Marc Chagall

(Marc Chagall's artworks are not in the public domain therefore I am unable to provide an image of 'La Vie'. However you can follow this link to view an image of the painting.)

Marc Chagall's works in general reveal the variety of influences he was exposed to beginning with Russian contemporary art during his early years at the beginning of the 20^th century, followed by the blossoming expressionism in Paris. Yet it is difficult to align his style within any of these genres, rather he has used these influences to create his own unique and highly recognisable style. He has borrowed the brilliant colours of fauvism, the abstract feel of cubism and the unexpected juxtaposition of surrealism.

Objects are crudely formed yet easily recognisable in their simplicity. Humans, animals, musical instruments, townships and other forms are almost childlike in his portrayal. In addition, the positioning of his subjects is unexpected with people, animals and objects interacting at odd angles and his use of out of size proportioning and non-realistic colouring give the work his trademark fantasy or dreamlike quality.

'La Vie' is an enormous twelve meter square canvas painted for the opening of the Maeght Gallery in 1964 during the latter part of his life. Saint Paul de Vence is a beautiful old village majestically situated on a hilltop a short drive from Nice (~12km); and it's fitting that this work which reflects on his life should rest in this gallery also not far from his burial site.

With blue as the predominant colour, Chagall's use of all the primary colours represents well the basics of life and in the same way the simplistic representation of humans and other objects. The most important things in his life were his Jewish roots that he never forgot even though he lived most of his life in France, love of the people in his life, romance, dreams, nature, creativity and music. All of these main facets of his life can be seen in this composition.

I feel the sun is the focal point of the picture due to its size, combination of bold primary colours, and the Jewish symbolism that is present in the sun's rays bound within a ring that can be likened to the Star of David. As all life revolves around the sun, his Jewish faith was at the heart of his life. His romantic view of humanity as vulnerable and sensual is depicted in many of his works. La Vie is no different. His love of humanity and creativity is evident here since most of the images are people and performers.

There are the two major places in his life; the first is his hometown of the Jewish village in Russia depicted in the representation of Jewish women in local dress nursing small children. Above that is an encapsulated image of a man and woman embracing; which may be himself and his first wife. The capsule may represent a memory bubble of that past life, or the tomb of his wife and he is still with her in his thoughts. The second is a scene from Paris including the Eiffel Tower which represents the beginning of his new life as an artist. Emanating from this scene is an image of a man and woman in marriage, his own presumably, and she is holding their baby. A feeling of rising up and floating is created here as in many of his paintings, indicating freedom and romantic elation. This metaphor for flight is a dreamlike recurrent theme in his works that also gives a feeling of movement.

Another recurrent theme present in La Vie is music, particularly that of a violinist, and we could expect that to be present in a painting depicting his life since he learned the violin in Russia at a young age. Violins were also played in his home town in Russia to mark major turning points in life such as birth, death and marriage. Other works have also included acrobats. In this piece there are many acrobats and musicians as if performing in a circus displaying the importance he placed on the creativity of man.

Other symbolism includes a fish floating towards the sun which may be a tribute to his father who worked in a herring factory. Interestingly the fish lacks vibrant colour which may reflect that his father was no longer living or that he lacked creativity since he was opposed to his son becoming an artist.

A prominent blue bird-like creature floating harmoniously above the couple has a mythical quality. This may be referring to a play he had seen where a couple find true love on returning to their home land, in which he may have seen a parallel with his own life when he returned to Russia to find his wife and love of his life. In La Vie, it may represent the blue bird of happiness and true love. Its size reflects the great importance he placed on love.

"In our life there is a single colour, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love." - Marc Chagall