Chagall

　　For Belarusian painter Marc Chagall (1887–1985), painting was an intricate tapestry of dreams, tales, and traditions. His instantly recognizable visual language carved out a unique early 20th-century niche, often identified as one of the earliest expressions of psychic experience.

　　Chagall's canvases are characterized by loose brushwork, deep colors, a particular fondness for blue, and a repertoire of recurring tropes including musicians, roosters, rooftops, flowers, and floating lovers. For all their ethereal charms, his compositions were often rich and complex in their references. They wove together not only colors and forms, but also his Jewish roots with his present encounters in Paris, markers of faith with gestures of love and symbols of hope with testimonies of trauma.

　　This dependable artist introduction explores the many versions of Chagall's rich vocabulary. Across scenes of birth, love, marriage, and death, from images of the Eiffel Tower to scenes in his native Vitebsk, it celebrates a unique aesthetic, as elegant to the eye as it is enticing to the imagination.

　　About the series:
　　Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:
 　　* a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
 　　* a concise biography
 　　* approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

作者簡介

　　Rainer Metzger studied art history, history and German studies in Munich and Augsburg. He received his doctorate in 1994, and has worked as a fine arts journalist for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including volumes on Van Gogh and Chagall.