Monday February 20 started out cloudy but the sun came out mid-day. High of 15C. We walked past Place Masséna, the main square in Nice, where a number of Carnaval activities take place. On the occasion of its 150th anniversary and to honour the inscription of Nice as "Riviera winter resort city" on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the 2023 Nice Carnival has a theme of Roi des Trésors du Monde (King of Treasures of the World).
 |
| King and Queen of the Treasures |
 |
| Seating and Ferris wheel-- we could walk by in late morning- later one needs a ticket to watch the parades |
We walked up the main street-- Av. Jean Médecin, to meet friends from Toronto for a coffee. We passed by an interesting sculpture next to the Basilica Notre-Dame de l'Assomption.
 |
| La Colombe de la Paix by Theo Tobiasse (1927-2012) |
Our rendez-vous spot was the Grand Café de Lyon, which dates back to around 1900. Good place to sit outside and meet friends. Coffee, not so much.
We then headed for our destination of The Musée National Marc Chagall. It was only a 15 minute walk from the Café.
The museum was on a hill up a flight of stairs.
 |
| Alain on the way up |
 |
Outside of the Museum which opened in 1973
|
 |
| Poster for Permanent Collection and Special Exposition Chagall et Moi: 50 years of the |
Marc Chagall National Museum
 |
| Poster for the exhibit |
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was born near Vitebsk, located in Belarus (then part of the Russian empire). Half of Vitebsk's population of 66,000 in 1887 was Jewish. Before WWI, Chagall travelled between Saint Petersburg, Paris and Berlin. During this period, he created his own style of modern art, with many references to Jewish life in Vitebsk. He spent WWI in Belarus becoming one of the country's most distinguished artists and a member of the modernist avant-garde, founding Vitebsk Arts College. He left for Paris in 1923. His first wife Bella Rosenfeld (1895-1944), a writer, was the subject of many of his paintings. In 1941, they managed to escape occupied France from Marseille, with the help of Varian Fry and the organization that would become the International Rescue Committee. The Chagalls went to New York.
Bella died from a bacterial infection in 1944. Chagall lived in New York City for seven years, before returning to France in 1948. He married Valentina Brodsky in 1952.
As well as paintings and drawings, Chagall produced many stained glass windows and large-scale paintings, including part of the ceiling of the Paris Opéra. He experienced modernism's "golden age" in Paris, though his work was described as "one long dreamy reverie of life in his native village of Vitebsk." In the 1950s, Picasso remarked that "when Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what colour really is".
The Musée national message biblique Marc Chagall (National Museum Marc Chagall Biblical Message), was inaugurated on July 7, 1973 in the presence of Marc Chagall, who celebrated his 86th birthday on the same day. It was the first time that a national museum had been devoted to an artist in his lifetime. It initially housed a collection of works donated to the French State by Chagall and his wife in 1966 and 1972. Since the museum opened, the seventeen Biblical Message paintings have been displayed in the rooms according to the artist's original installation plan.
 |
| Intro to the Museum |
The first room had a number of paintings with different themes organized for the
Chagall and Me exhibit. The first few pictures had biblical themes, which formed the basis of the Museum. Over the years, the Museum has acquired many other of Chagall's works.
La Vocation d'Ezéchiel, published 1952-56 had been commissioned by the art dealer Ambroise Vollard in 1930 and was part of a series of illustrations of the Bible. Chagall and his wife Bella visited Palestine and from 1931-39 (when Vollard died), he worked on 105 etchings that were not published until 1956
|
La Vocation d'Ezéchiel
 |
| Les Psaumes de David, 1979- his last illustrated book published in 1979. |
 |
| Self-Portrait, 1915 (purchased by the Museum in 2005) |
There was an explanation of a small number of self portraits, under the theme of
The Prophetic Mirror---- in the portrait below, the prophet Ezekiel is the artist's double.
 |
| Autoportrait Bouche Maison, 1922-23 --- the mouth merges with the house, as the origin of memory, "reminding us of the extent to which the painter's works stem from transfigured memories" |
 |
| Autoportrait en vert, 1914--painted after his return to Russia in 1914. Influence of his Parisian apprenticeship can be felt. Bella is depicted as an inspirational figure whispering in his ear. |
 |
| Vers l'autre clarté, 1985-- the last colour lithograph signed by Chagall. He worked on one last black and white project, L'Adieu, before passing away at around 8:00 p.m. on March 28, 1985 |
At the end of the first room was the entrance to the auditorium. A film of a dance by the Monte-Carlo Ballet that had been commissioned by the Museum was about to start. We went in to watch the film.
 |
| Outside the auditorium |
It was a wonderful 30 minute film of a ballet performed under a screen of one of Chagall's
Song of Songs series. The two choreographers/dancers start by discussing the elements of the dance and start performing the moves. The other two dancers do a section of the dance--ending up in the position of the couple in the painting (at the bottom of the screen). Then all four dance together. The choreographers, Mimoza Koike, from Tokyo, and Asier Eden, from San Sebastián, created the work entitled
Hors-Champ in 2021. They have choreographed a number of dances for the Museum in partnership with the Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
 |
| Opening of the film |
 |
| Dancers under the screen of Song of Songs III, 1960, one of the Museum's signature works, which celebrates human and divine love. |
There were three beautiful stained glass windows, designed by Chagall, that decorated the auditorium. They are called the Creation of the World, and were made by a master glass artist from Reims, Charles Marq. Many famous musicians have performed there. A Steinway piano was acquired in 1973 and a harpsichord painted by Chagall in 1980, are played regularly.
 |
| The Creation of the World |
 |
| The three windows-- Chagall had a passion for music - his paintings often contained violinists, acrobat-musicians and trumpet-playing angels. |
After the film, we went into the room that housed
The Biblical Message. Chagall began work on
The Biblical Message at the beginning of the fifties. They were created between 1956-1966. They were initially going to be put in a Chapel in Vence, but when that project fell through, André Malraux, Minister of Culture, suggested that Chagall display the set of exceptional paintings in a new building which would be dedicated to Chagall's work. Chagall then offered the artworks to the French State in 1966 and they became the heart of the museum's collection. There are 12 paintings illustrating Genesis and the Exodus, while the five paintings of
The Song of Songs can be found in the neighbouring gallery.
 |
| Moses and the Burning Bush (1960-66) |
 |
| Moses Striking the Rock (1960-66) |
 |
| Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1960-66) |
 |
| Jacob's Dream (1960-66) |
 |
| Noah and the Rainbow (1961-66) - end of the flood and emptying of the ark. Noah is lying down, looking at this vision of a rainbow sent by God in a sign of a Covenant with the Jewish people. The misfortunes of the Jewish people are symbolised by the blazing houses in the left side of the painting. |
 |
Adam and Eve expelled from Paradise, 1961- The angel in the middle of the painting
is driving Adam and Eve out. There is a dazzling bouquet in the left of the picture. |
 |
| Drawing Chagall |
 |
| Moses Receiving the Tablets of the Law (1960-66) |
We then went into a smaller adjacent room with seven beautiful primarily pink and red coloured paintings entitled
Le Cantique des Cantiques (
Song of Songs) painted from 1957-1966.
 |
| Le Cantique des Cantiques II, 1957 |
 |
| Le Cantique des Cantiques III, 1960 (the painting used in the dance film we had just seen) |
 |
| Le Cantique des Cantiques IV 1958 |
There was then a narrow room with an installation entitled Hairy sky, Warm rain, by Makiko Furuichi, commissioned by the Museum. It consists of a series of watercolours and a mural that proposes a dialogue with Chagall's mosaic of the Prophet Elijah. Furuichi was born in 1987 in Kanazawa, Japan and grew up in a temple founded by her grandmother.
 |
| Ciel poilu, pluie chaude, 2023 |
 |
| Beautiful watercolours |
Chagall's mosaic devoted to the prophet Elijah, was well suited to the Museum's central, biblical dimension. Elijah is depicted in his chariot of fire. He is surrounded by the 12 signs of the zodiac integrated into a Mediterranean landscape. The mosaic is outside a window reflected in a water mirror.
 |
| Le Char d'Elie (Chariot of Elijah), 1971 |
The last room was a series of photographs, artifacts and paintings highlighting the 50 years of the Museum. Chagall was actively involved in the design and construction of his museum alongside the architect André Hermant (1908-1978). There was an extension project to the building in 2007 to provide for a new reception and boutique area.
 |
| Photo of the museum |
 |
Last work- L'Adieu, March 28, 1985 (he died later that night)
|
 |
| A beautiful screen |
 |
| Chagall at the Museum-- with the mosaic on the right |
 |
Marc Chagall in the middle-- André Malraux, Minister of Cultural Affairs, on the right
Quote by Chagall: I would also like to see works of art and documents of high spirituality from all peoples exhibited in this place, and to hear their music and poetry dictated by the heart. |
 |
Invitation to the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall (The Original name of the Museum)
in 1973 with Marc Chagall in attendance |
Chagall gave a speech at the inauguration which was reproduced for visitors. He noted that; "Ever since my earliest youth, I have been captivated by the Bible. I have always thought and still think that it is the greatest source of poetry of all time. Ever since then, I have looked for its reflection in life and art.... I wanted to leave [these paintings] in this House so that men can try and find some peace, a certain spirituality, a religiosity, meaning to life... And all, whatever their religion, will be able to come here and talk about this dream, far from wickedness and agitation." Beautiful words.
We had a wonderful visit to the Museum. Beautiful works by Chagall in a lovely setting.
 |
| Alain heading down the steps |
 |
The light was beautiful in the late afternoon- we stopped at a Boulangerie for a treat
on the street with many orange trees |
We dropped by the Tourist Office for some more info on perspective day trips. Then we headed back on the Promenade des Anglais, enjoying the sunset and water views.
 |
| The Nice blue chairs facing the Sea--- lots of folks enjoying the sunset |
 |
| Lovely colours |
We walked by the building with the trompe l'oeil facade. Hard to believe the topiary trees and windows are all painted on the wall.
 |
| A clear view of the trompe l'oeil building |
We headed back to the apartment. For dinner, Alain made a pasta with tomato sauce and a nice salad which we enjoyed with a glass of wine.
Comments
Post a Comment