Dan
Artist
Marc Chagall
(Vitebsk, Russia, 1887 - 1985)
Date1961
Mediumcolour lithograph on paper
ClassificationsPrints
DimensionsFrame: Height: 83.7 cm, Width: 66.3 cm
Overall: 52.5 x 74.1cm
Overall: 52.5 x 74.1cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1966.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG005729
Keywords
Mosaic law forbids the representation of the human figure and Chagall was required to comply with this ruling, so here the subject is depicted as a serpent who twines around a majestic three-branched candlestick. Above, a vermilion lion cub raises a sword, which also serves as the beam for the scales of justice.
A Hassidic Jew from Vitebsk, a provincial market town in Russia, Chagall's early life had been permeated with the mystical religion of his people, which emphasised emotional expression. In France, Chagall's art was transformed by his exposure to Renoir, Bonnard, Matisse and Picasso. Nevertheless it was ultimately his dreams and his past that stimulated his imagination. Here objects seem to float above the city in a dream-like way. Chagall has cast his magic - his colour has a spiritual quality, he animates material and transforms it into dazzling light.
Sir Frank Brangwyn
Sir Frank Brangwyn
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones
1859
