Chagall: World In Turmoil

Exhibition at the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 4 November 2022 - 19 February 2023;
at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, 16 March - 18 June 2023

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) is regarded as the poet amongst modernist artists. The life and work of the Jewish painter were profoundly affected by the art poli¬cies of the National Socialists and the Holocaust; his bright colour palette became darker.

By the early 1930s, Chagall's works were already examining the increasingly aggressive anti-Semitism in Europe, and the artist finally emigrated to the United States in 1941. During these years, his art works touch on central themes such as identity, homeland, and exile.

In over 100 paintings, works on paper and costumes, this exhibition catalogue traces the artist's search for a pictorial language in the face of displacement and persecution. It presents important works in which Chagall increasingly focuses on his Jewish environment: numerous self-portraits, his devotion to allegorical and Biblical subjects, important designs from his time in exile in the United States and main works like The Falling Angel. The book offers a highly topical perspective on the oeuvre of one of the most important artists of the 20th century.