Marc Chagall

Chagall's sprightly fiddler on the roof and his romantic airborne lovers—affectionate icons from the artist's early years in a Russian village—are among the most familiar and best-loved figures in modern art. This beguiling volume tells the story of Chagall's long and adventure-filled life and presents his works in diverse media—oil, watercolor, graphics of all types, pottery, and stained glass.

Chagall's early achievements in Russia attracted the first of his many gaurdian angels, who made it possible for him to move to Paris, where he enthusiastically enjoyed the heady pleasures of bohemia and his own precocious success. Back in Russia on a visit in 1914, he was trapped by the onset of the Revolution, which unexpectedly elevated him to the lofty position of art commissar—and just as quickly demoted him. Not until eight years later was he back in his beloved France, where he stayed the rest of his life except for a reluctant exile to the United States during World War II. However tumultuous his life became, Chagall remained almost unsinkably lighthearted, expressing an exuberant joy in living that infused his art and makes this engaging book such a delight to look at and read.

About the Modern Masters series:

With infomative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. The authors are highly respected art historians and critics chosen for their ability to think clearly and write well. Each handsomely designed volume presents a thorough survey of the artist's life and work, as well as statements by theartist, an illustrated chapter on technique, a chronology, lists of exhibitions and public collections, an annotated bibliography, and an index. Every art lover, from the casual museumgoer to the serious student, teacher, critic, or curator, will be eager to collect these Modern Masters. And with such a low price, they can afford to collect them all.

Other Details: 115 or more illustrations, approximately 48 in full color 128 pages 8 1/2 x 8 1/2" Published 1989

deeply he was involved in the life and politics of his times. From the bohemia of Paris in the last years of the Belle Epoque he returned to his native Russia, eventually becoming an academician and an art commissar, enmeshed in the politics of the Russian Revolution. Although he was an irrepressible optimist, Chagall was by no means oblivious or insensitive to the troubles of humanity. Yet he was never distressed by these matters to the point of despair. He was blessed with limitless energy and self-confidence, with the resilience to survive trials, and with a readiness to find fulfillment in his work and in his love of those near to him.

The fruit of Chagall's long life was a vast body of work in many different media—paintings; graphic works (lithographs, etchings, poster prints) beyond number; book illustrations; set designs for theater and ballet; ceramics and sculpture in bronze, stone, and marble; mosaics and tapestry designs; and, in the large-scale public commissions of his later years, murals, ceilings, and stained-glass windows. The finest examples of this prodigious output placed Chagall among the masters of twentieth-century art. But even in the least of his creations he managed to share some of his extraordinary joy and faith with the many lovers of his art.