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One of the major artists of the 20th century, Marc Chagall (1887–1985), born in White Russia (present-day Belarus), settled in the South of France in the 1950s. His world is unique, nurtured by the many cultural influences encountered during his life and marked by war and exile. In tune with his time, his art embodies a universal message of peace. Borrowing from many 20th century art movements but never aligning with one, his oeuvre is distinct and instantly recognisable, with vivid colours and warm light inviting you on a journey to far and imaginary horizons.

Marc Chagall, Light and Colour in Southern France explores the omnipresence of light and colour in his work from the 1950s to the 1970s, inspired by the dazzling Mediterranean Sea and bright landscapes of the French Riviera. Marc Chagall had first discovered this region at the end of the 1920s. The intensity of the southern light had a profound effect on him, stimulating an artistic renaissance. Greece, where he travelled in 1952 and 1954, also became a source of inspiration. Colour, in an aesthetic and a symbolic sense, is essential to Chagall, an architecture within the composition and a vector of spirituality. A thematic renaissance was also to take shape, where mythical beings, mermaids, fish and radiant suns adorn his creations, providing a Mediterranean aura to the paintings.

This first exhibition in Macao dedicated to Marc Chagall will feature a selection of works (paintings, gouaches, lithographs, costumes and tapestries) which highlight the pre-eminence of light and colour in his creations.

Organised by the Macao Museum of Art under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R Government, this exhibition has been made possible thanks to the precious help of the Musée National Marc Chagall in Nice, Opéra National de Paris, in collaboration with Bouquinerie de l’Institut, Cécile Léon Art Projects in Paris, and with the generous support of the Chagall estate.

Marc Chagall. Gouache préparatoire pour Sirène et poisson, 1956–60 (détail)