Chagall and music in la philarmonie.Paris

Today,the sky is grey in Paris but the little Art Seeker has found colors in la Philarmonie in Paris with the beautiful exhibition devoted to Chagall and music.

Music has always been present in the life of this great artist.From his childhood in Russia where he could listen to the violin played by the fiddler of Vitbesk,his native village and totally reminiscent of his jewish culture to his active participation in the creation of costumes and scenery for the moscow jewish theatre.

You will discover the different ballets he was involved in as a creator of costumes and decors in Paris,Mexico and New York.

This exhibition is absolutely gorgeous,with its many screens showing the artist in the creating process and its extraordinary sculptures,costumes ,settings imagined thanks to his beautiful creativity and the richness of his palette.

It displays works never shown before such as the huge theater set from the Franfort theater or pictures representing Chagall in his studio ,realizing the decor of the ceiling of the Opera de Paris in 1963-1964.

Commedia dell’Arte,1958

Francfort sur Main

The exhibition begins with the discovery of the Opera de Paris ceiling and finishes on the pannels of the Jewish theatre .The choice of a reversed chronology is explained by the fact that Chagall’s work can be seen as a cycle with permanent back and forth .Everything begins with the jewish theatre but also finishes with it ,all what makes the artist’s universe is there .

When Chagall will leave Europe for America in 1941,he will be asked for the Metropolitan Opera ‘s decor and costumes in two ballets:Aleko and Stravinsky’s Firebird .

“Chagall’s scenery is burning as the sun shines above”would say his wife Bella who worked with the artist in 1942 for the Metropolitan Opera in New York where he imagined the 70 costumes of the Aleko ballet ,on a music from the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky.

The story of the ballet is inspired by a poem from Pouchkine called “The gypsies “and evokes themes that inspired him very much such as exile but also music and dance.The exhibition displays 12 costumes ,with a few projects of scenery to accompany them.Chagall will be so much involved in the project that he will also sign the choregraphy of the show!!!

The little art seeker admired the gorgeous scenery realized for the firebird but also the extraordinary costumes imagined for the New York Opera in 1945.The artist who has been impressed by the size of the american city has imagined a better structured and open scenery.

The master will continue his work of creation with Daphnis and Chloé in Paris in 1958.The Opera de Paris will ask him to imagine the costumes and the scenery of rejected love between two young sheperds .The story inspired by the greek mythology on a music from the French composer Maurice Ravel ,will inspire him blue landscapes with the mediterranean sea as the main decor .

Our eyes were totally caught by the dazzling colors of Chagall’s compositions mixing oil painting with sand but also by its poetic pottery:the dream!

But we are in Paris and of course the wonder of Marc Chagall remains for us the ceiling of the Opera de Paris in 1964.

During more than a year ,the painter realized drawings,sketches,using pen,ink or felt pens to give life to this incredible scenery that still ornates the ceiling of the Palais Garnier auditorium.

The ceiling is composed of 12 lateral pannels and a circular work and represents the works of great composers such as Bizet and Carmen,Verdi and his Traviata ,Gluck and Orphee and Eurydice…..

The exhibition shows us a very beautiful picture of Chagall painting “the triumph of music”in New York for the Lincoln center in 1965.

This painting is completely red and is totally focused around the character of the musician angel ,a character that is recurring in his work probably to make us understand the divine aspect of music.

So if as the little Art Seeker,you love the tempting beauty of Marc Chagall’s work ,visit this beautiful exhibition in Paris on display till January 2016!