Marc Chagall, du noir et blanc à la couleur 1948-1985

Celebrated master of color by artists and critics of his time, Marc Chagall is revealed, in this exhibition project devoted to his last years, by his artistic exploration of black and white to a new masterful mastery of colors particularly bright, intense and deep. The beginning of this period coincides with the return of the painter in France from the American exile in 1948 as desired and hoped for. Thanks to a renewed serenity in his "second homeland", Marc Chagall infuses to his vast plastic and monumental design the fruit harvested from the orders made for the stage in Mexico and New York during the war. Always attentive to its time and eager to surprise the expectations of the European public, this new artistic stage feeds on a path that is quite audacious. For the interrogation of color by the exploration of black and white seems to be against the image that the colorist has left for a few decades. However, the dialogue between black and white and color has already been woven at several previous times, from the twenties, when Chagall discovered all the techniques of engraving. However, contrary to the experience of recent years highlighted in the exhibition, the previous dialogues emphasized the need for the exploration of color to understand the depths of blacks. In a large representative selection of about 200 works in various artistic techniques that the artist experiments with curiosity and fervor, the public will discover for the first time the artistic means invested with great freedom through which the vision of the The universe of the painter, draftsman, sculptor, ceramist and engraver is expanding, being built and unfolds towards a palette enriched with colors. Indian ink wash and white marble sculptures will inaugurate this discovery of the visitor to meet the palette of various topics addressed, impregnated by the land of reception. The introduction of colored masses in dialogue with black and white in the space explored allows to accompany the v isitor's gaze towards a new understanding of the luminous depth of the monochrome built as well as the shimmering colors that we associate with the Chagall's work from the Mediterranean era.