The Exodus Series, Marc Chagall
Triptych
Provenance: Charleston’s Fine Art Auctions, Sydney.
Marc Chagall was a French-Russian artist whose work anticipated the dream-like imagery of Surrealism. Over the course of his career Chagall developed the poetic, amorphous, and deeply personal visual language.The artist was raised immersed in Jewish culture and iconography. Visiting Russia in 1914, the artist was prevented from returning to Paris due to the outbreak of World War I until 1926. In addition to his paintings, Chagall was also noted for his vibrant works in stained glass and lithography. Forced to flee Paris during World War II, Chagall lived in the United States and traveled through to Israel before returning to France in 1948. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Albertina in Vienna, among others (1).
The Exodus series was completed by Chagall before his last move to the USA. Chagall uses the Exodus series to depict the Old Testament story of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt before Moses was handed down the Ten Commandments. He uses the exodus as comparable to the reality of the world during the Second World War (2).