Marc Chagall: An Artful Life
Matthew Palczynski, Ph.D., is an art history lecturer, consultant, and educator, focusing on vanguard art after around 1850. He presents talks online and globally for academic, corporate, and nonprofit organizations. His presentations have included those for Renaissance Weekend, Stanford University, Princeton University’s James Madison Program, The Wharton School, National Gallery of Art, and United Airlines. He is an Adjunct Senior Instructor at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, and has taught at the Tyler School of Art (Temple University) since 2004.
Overview
Throughout Marc Chagall’s long career, his work retained a kind of youthful exuberance–one of the many reasons his imagery is so beloved. His scenes reflect the many important historical and artistic moments he experienced, including both World Wars and Paris at the heyday of Cubism. Along the way he merged subjects and themes recollected from a childhood in modern-day Belarus with the complexities inspired by the avant-garde communities around him, ultimately visualizing a world filled with love, wonder, and imagination.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Chagall: A Biography, by Jackie Wullschlager
Marc Chagall ex. cat., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2003
Marc Chagall: My Life, by Marc Chagall
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- In which ways was Chagall an innovator?
- What role did his Jewish identity play in his work?
- What are some of Chagall’s most important works?