M.Z. Chagall (1887

How to get to the museum

Metro
By car

From the Oktyabrskaya metro station: exit the metro onto Krymsky Val Street and follow the bridge. Opposite the main entrance to Gorky Park, cross the road.

From the Park Kultury metro station: exit the metro onto Krymsky Val Street and follow the bridge. Opposite the main entrance to Gorky Park, cross the road.

Follow from Kaluga Square along the inner side of the Garden Ring.

Days of free visits at the museum

Every Wednesday you can visit the permanent exhibition "The Art of the 20th Century" in the New Tretyakov Gallery for free, as well as the temporary exhibitions "The Gift of Oleg Yakhont" and "Konstantin Istomin. Color in the Window”, held in the Engineering Corps.

The right to free access to expositions in the Main Building in Lavrushinsky Lane, the Engineering Building, the New Tretyakov Gallery, the house-museum of V.M. Vasnetsov, museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov is provided on the following days for certain categories of citizens in general order:

First and second Sunday of every month:

for students of higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation, regardless of the form of education (including foreign citizens-students of Russian universities, graduate students, adjuncts, residents, assistant trainees) upon presentation of a student card (does not apply to persons presenting student trainee cards) );

for students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (from 18 years old) (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries). On the first and second Sundays of each month, students holding ISIC cards have the right to visit the exhibition “Art of the 20th Century” at the New Tretyakov Gallery free of charge.

every Saturday - for members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Please note that conditions for free access to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

Attention! At the ticket office of the Gallery, entrance tickets are provided with a face value of "free of charge" (upon presentation of the relevant documents - for the above-mentioned visitors). At the same time, all services of the Gallery, including excursion services, are paid in accordance with the established procedure.

Visiting the museum on public holidays

On National Unity Day - November 4 - the Tretyakov Gallery is open from 10:00 to 18:00 (entry until 17:00). Paid entrance.

Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Lane, Engineering Building and New Tretyakov Gallery - from 10:00 to 18:00 (ticket office and entrance until 17:00)
Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov and the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsov - closed

Paid entrance.

Waiting for you!

Please note that conditions for preferential admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

Right of preferential visit The Gallery, except as provided for by a separate order of the Gallery's management, is provided upon presentation of documents confirming the right to preferential visits:

pensioners (citizens of Russia and CIS countries),
full cavaliers of the Order of Glory,
students of secondary and secondary special educational institutions (from 18 years old),
students of higher educational institutions of Russia, as well as foreign students studying in Russian universities (except for student trainees),
members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Visitors of the above categories of citizens purchase a reduced ticket in general order.

Right of free admission The main and temporary expositions of the Gallery, except for cases provided for by a separate order of the Gallery's management, are provided for the following categories of citizens upon presentation of documents confirming the right to free admission:

persons under the age of 18;
students of faculties specializing in the field of fine arts of secondary specialized and higher educational institutions of Russia, regardless of the form of education (as well as foreign students studying in Russian universities). The clause does not apply to persons presenting student cards of "trainee students" (in the absence of information about the faculty in the student card, a certificate from the educational institution with the obligatory indication of the faculty is presented);
veterans and invalids of the Great Patriotic War, combatants, former underage prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos and other places of detention created by the Nazis and their allies during the Second World War, illegally repressed and rehabilitated citizens (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
military servicemen of the Russian Federation;
Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, Full Cavaliers of the "Order of Glory" (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
disabled people of groups I and II, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
one accompanying disabled person of group I (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
one accompanying disabled child (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
artists, architects, designers - members of the relevant creative Unions of Russia and its subjects, art historians - members of the Association of Art Critics of Russia and its subjects, members and employees of the Russian Academy of Arts;
members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM);
employees of museums of the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the relevant Departments of Culture, employees of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and ministries of culture of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
volunteers of the Sputnik program - entrance to the exhibitions "Art of the XX century" (Krymsky Val, 10) and "Masterpieces of Russian art of the XI - early XX centuries" (Lavrushinsky pereulok, 10), as well as to the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsov and the Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov (citizens of Russia);
guide-interpreters who have an accreditation card of the Association of Guide-Translators and Tour Managers of Russia, including those accompanying a group of foreign tourists;
one teacher of an educational institution and one accompanying a group of students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (if there is an excursion voucher, subscription); one teacher of an educational institution that has state accreditation of educational activities when conducting an agreed training session and has a special badge (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
one accompanying a group of students or a group of military servicemen (if there is an excursion voucher, subscription and during a training session) (citizens of Russia).

Visitors of the above categories of citizens receive an entrance ticket with a face value of "Free".

Please note that conditions for preferential admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

Journal number:

Special issue. Marc Chagall "HELLO, MOTHERLAND!"

"Hello Motherland!" - the most complete exhibition of paintings by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) in Russia to date. The name was given to her by one of the artist's works. This is not only about the next long-awaited meeting of the works of the famous master with the Russian audience (the last major exhibition of Chagall took place at the State Tretyakov Gallery in 1992). Motherland - big and small, lost and found again - was constantly present in Chagall's art, which gave a unique originality to his work.

For many years, Marc Chagall has remained one of the most sought-after artists of Russian origin in the West. His personal exhibitions are regularly held in prestigious museums and galleries in Europe, America and Asia. The Tretyakov Gallery repeatedly provided works by Chagall from its collection for international projects. But in our country, a significant part of the works from foreign collections has never been exhibited. For the first time, the Moscow public had a unique opportunity to see the artist's works brought together, created in different years - from early Vitebsk works to famous masterpieces of the French period.

The peculiarity of the exhibition is that it includes a significant number of first-class works by Chagall from foreign collections. The Moscow public will see 27 paintings from the Paris Museum of Modern Art (Georges Pompidou Center), which are the most important for understanding the artist's work. Among them are iconic works: “The Wedding” (1910), “To Russia, Donkeys and Others” (1911), “Angel with a Palette” (1927-1936). The triptych “Resistance. Renaissance. Liberation" (1937-1952) Jean-Michel Fauré, director of the National Museum "The Biblical Message of Marc Chagall" in Nice. From this collection, the exhibition received, in addition to 8 first-class gouaches, a unique three-meter canvas "Abraham and Three Angels", which had never left its walls before. Another famous, but unknown to the domestic public, work is the “Yellow Room” from the Beyeler Foundation in Switzerland.

The exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery presents more than 180 exhibits. The exhibition also includes works from the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin and other Russian and foreign museums and private collections.

The exposition makes it possible to follow the changes in Chagall's artistic language, but, most importantly, to see the "constant" of his unique art, where fantasy and reality, dream and grotesque, visionary representations, own and people's memory, national and ritual thinking, elements of folklore and incredible , the utmost sincerity of Chagall. It is customary to call him an "artist-poet", and his art, following Apollinaire, is "superreal". Folklore characters, strange cows, donkeys, musicians, merchants and lovers soaring over the city coexist in Chagall's world. The city over which they take off is Vitebsk. According to Chagall, Paris became for him "the second Vitebsk". In the last twenty years of his life, the master found his third home on the Cote d'Azur in the town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

For Chagall, the connection with Russia was always important, which remained for the artist an inexhaustible source of themes, plots and images. On the first sheet of etchings - illustrations for "Dead Souls" - in 1927, the author inscribed: "I present to the Tretyakov Gallery with all my love of a Russian artist for his homeland this series of 96 engravings ..." 1 . He ended one of his last letters with the words: "... I wish you, everyone and my homeland happiness ..."

A catalog in Russian and English has been specially prepared for the exhibition. It contains articles by domestic and foreign experts on the artist's work, over 600 illustrations, as well as a chronograph that includes more than 100 photographs from the archives of the artist's heirs. The catalog significantly expands the scope of the exposition and is the most complete publication about Marc Chagall published in Russia.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

You invited us to join you today to open the largest ever exhibition dedicated to Marc Chagall in Russia. It is a great honor and great joy for me.

Today we pay tribute to the most brilliant artist of the 20th century, born in Russia, a great master who was also very attached to France. I am pleased to welcome the distinguished delegation that came to this special occasion and assisted in providing the exhibits. It includes members of the Marc Chagall family - Mrs. Bella Meyer and Mrs. Meret Meyer.

It is with great pleasure that I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the State Tretyakov Gallery to this extraordinary project. It was also attended by two of the largest French museums - the National Museum of Contemporary Art of the Center Georges Pompidou and the National Museum "The Bible Message of Marc Chagall" in Nice, whose directors honored us with their presence today. So, let me once again express my deep gratitude to you, Mr. Valentin Rodionov and Mrs. Ekaterina Selezneva, for this wonderful event.

In fact, the Tretyakov Gallery has been at the forefront of our cultural cooperation for several years now. Thanks to her, it becomes possible to see works brought from France here. At the same time, the employees of the Gallery simultaneously hold several large-scale events with various famous museums of our country. Paris will very soon be able to respond to her with an unprecedented event: the first large retrospective of works of Russian art of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries will open at the Musee d'Orsay on September 20 this year. It will consist of works, most of which have never been exhibited outside of Russia. Following this event, in the fall of 2006, it is planned to implement a project that is very dear to us - Moscow and St. Petersburg will simultaneously receive collections that include the most characteristic works of French art from the period 1860-1910. We hope that he will receive financial support from French and Russian private foundations. As you can see for yourself, France is doing its best to consolidate the privileged relations in the field of art that connect it with Russia, to make sure that every year becomes the year of Russia in France and the year of France in Russia, and that in the largest museums they succeed each other, as it was in recent months in Moscow, works by Matisse and Picasso (in the Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin), Boltanski (in the Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev) and today - Marc Chagall in the Tretyakov Gallery.

The next meeting in France will be held in less than three weeks within the framework of the Book Salon in Paris and will be devoted to literature. Russia is invited as a guest of honor. And we also know that the Louvre Museum is preparing a big project for 2008.

The French Embassy always strives to take part in the implementation of these projects. On his behalf, I am pleased to thank all those who, like you today, continue to contribute to the development of close creative, human and intellectual ties between our two countries.

Ambassador of France
In Russian federation

When the idea of a large exhibition of Marc Chagall arose, at first it looked like an absolute utopia. Firstly, it seemed impossible to collect so many masterpieces: the owners are usually reluctant to give the best works, which are the pride of their collections, to exhibitions in other cities and countries. Secondly, this is an extremely expensive project. Finally, the organization of large exhibitions with foreign participants is very difficult. However, the desire to implement the project was stronger than our fears. When we started to implement it, we were happy to discover the readiness of many partners - foreign and domestic - to meet us halfway. And today I would like to thank those whose enthusiasm and goodwill helped to solve all problems, making possible the long-awaited meeting of the artist with Russia.

Our main ally was the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, without whose organizational and financial support the project would hardly have been implemented. These efforts were supported by significant financial assistance provided by Vneshtorgbank.

Among the permanent partners and friends of the museum, Leonard Janadda was the first to respond, as always. In 1990, it was the Janad-da Foundation that helped the Tretyakov Gallery restore priceless Chagall panels for the Jewish Theatre; at the Janadd Foundation in Martini they were exhibited for the first time. This exhibition was the beginning of their triumphal tour around the world.

In recent years, not a single major project of the Gallery can do without the support of British American Tobacco Russia, which this time also helped to finance our exhibition.

Of the almost two hundred works by Chagall exhibited at the exhibition, 27 works were provided by the National Museum of Modern Art of the Center Georges Pompidou; the legendary canvas “Abraham and the Three Angels” and gouaches of the “Biblical cycle” were brought by the National Museum “The Biblical Message of Marc Chagall” in Nice; about four dozen wonderful works came from family collections. Finally, at the last moment, the issue of the arrival of the famous "Yellow Room" from the Beyeler Foundation in Switzerland to the exhibition was resolved - thanks to the assistance of the owners and the help of the Parisian gallery Bulakia.

The exhibition would not have been so large-scale without those important works that were provided to us by the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin in Moscow and a number of Russian museums and private collections.

I want to thank all the employees of the Tretyakov Gallery for the high professionalism and dedication with which they worked on the implementation of this difficult project.

We are excited to present you the result of the joint efforts of many participants - the exhibition of Marc Chagall "Hello, Motherland!". The Russian public will be able to see and appreciate the collection of works by the recognized classic of the 20th century - from early Vitebsk works to masterpieces of the French period, many of which are exhibited in Russia for the first time.

A catalog was prepared for the exhibition. It contains articles by Russian, French, and American art historians, which represent a serious result of modern research on Chagall's work. We believe that this book will become a fundamental scientific and reference publication for many specialists and connoisseurs of Chagall's art. We are pleased to announce that the publication of the English version of the catalog became possible only thanks to the financial assistance of the International Marc Chagall Foundation, where Meret Meyer, Chagall's granddaughter, applied for project support. This amazing woman selflessly helped the Tretyakov Gallery in preparing the exhibition for three years. We also express our sincere gratitude to Jean-Louis Prat, President of the Marc Chagall Committee, for invaluable advice.

General Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery

Dear friends!
I am very glad that the exhibition of works by Marc Chagall opens the new eighth year of cooperation between British American Tobacco Russia and the State Tretyakov Gallery. We are proud that we continue to contribute to the implementation of large-scale exhibition projects, to the replenishment of the museum's collection with new works of art and to the technical re-equipment of the Gallery.

Having lived most of his life abroad, Marc Chagall considered himself a Russian artist. Today, with the support of Russian patrons, including BAT Russia, Chagall returned to his homeland. Chagall's hometown, Vitebsk, I myself consider a city very close to me - after all, in the house located on the same street where Chagall lived, my father was born. Dad remembered well and told me a lot about the time when Mark Zakharovich, after returning to Vitebsk after the revolution, headed the Commissariat for Culture.

It is pleasant to realize that now the Russian public will be able to enjoy the full lyricism of the work of this outstanding artist, who, according to Mayakovsky, "wrote poems and poems with the colors of his heart."

I thank all the staff of the Tretyakov Gallery, and especially Ekaterina Leonidovna Selezneva, curator of Marc Chagall's exhibition "Hello, Motherland!", for this wonderful holiday. I am sure that such a grandiose exhibition will become a bright event in the cultural life of the Russian capital in 2005.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC "BAT-Yava", member of the Board of Trustees of the State Tretyakov Gallery

It may seem surprising and even incredible, but a huge part of the works of Marc Chagall in his homeland, in Russia, has never been presented. And this is despite the fact that the work of the great artist has long been recognized throughout the world, including at home, and we, his compatriots, had more than enough time to fill this gap.

I may be reminded that Marc Chagall was born and began to create in Vitebsk, that is, in Belarus, but there is no contradiction in what has been said. The artist himself considered Russia his homeland and suffered because she defiantly turned away from him. What sad poetry sounds like a letter to Russia written in 1927 to one of Chagall's addressees: “... I am almost cut off from Russia. No one writes to me, and I have no one to write to. It’s as if I wasn’t born in Russia ... And it seems: there’s no need for me there. And I often remember my Vitebsk, my fields ... and especially the sky.

Today, justice is being restored, and Marc Chagall occupies the place he rightfully deserves in Russian culture. Another step on this path will be the exhibition "Hello, Motherland!", titled after the title of one of Chagall's works. Thanks to the Tretyakov Gallery, which showed the work of Chagall in such impressive fullness, Russian viewers will be able to expand their understanding of one of the most outstanding masters of the twentieth century.

President-Chairman
boards
OJSC "Vneshtorgbank"

It is impossible to describe in words the excitement that we feel today, being present at the opening of the exhibition "Hello, Motherland!" full of moments of many magical discoveries.

But we cannot even imagine the excitement that our grandfather would have experienced if he had had a chance to experience these moments of happiness with us. If our gaze could soar above these roofs and shoot upward, it would bring us closer to the sensations of Chagall, today, no doubt, painted in vivid, bright, poetic colors. Moreover, he forever retained strong impressions of how thoughtfully and in depth the Russian public examines works of art, trying to penetrate the essence of the artist's intention.

When in 1973 our grandfather returned from a trip to Russia, which after his final departure became the first and last meeting with the Motherland, I remember how he recalled this Russian look - he didn’t talk much, he just fell silent for a long time, and after a while, said: “Oh, what a thing!”

Today we have the honor to understand a lot about this "look". It is analogous to the genuine magic that emanates in silence from the works of the master brought together here.

Meret Meyer ,
the artist's granddaughter

It is quite difficult for me to speak after my sister, who managed to find the right words to express the feelings that we experience while in Moscow. Today we really feel great gratitude, it is a great honor for us to open this wonderful exhibition of Chagall together with you.

I do not know if I can fully thank you for coming - after so many years of patiently waiting for this day - to see again, and for some, perhaps for the first time, discover Chagall's painting.

He has always worked hard. This was the most important day of his life. As he said, nothing can be achieved without hard work. It was his way of fighting for his ideals. He often asked us, his grandchildren, if we found love, do we have ideals? When you are a few years old, it is quite difficult to understand the essence of this issue. And only when I grew up, I understood and heard the message that he wanted to convey to us. To paint pictures was for him a kind of prayer, awareness of his own "I", the struggle for artistic freedom.

Thank you for coming to take part in the opening of this wonderful, love-filled exhibition that celebrates Chagall.

Bella Meyer ,
the artist's granddaughter

The quotation is given in the author's spelling

The exhibition “Marc Chagall. The origins of the artist's creative language”, timed to coincide with his 125th birthday. The exposition focuses on little-known graphics, it also includes examples of Jewish folk art and Russian popular prints.

Going into exile in 1922, Marc Chagall wrote: “Neither tsarist nor Soviet Russia needs me. They don't understand me, I'm a stranger here. But Rembrandt certainly loves me. And maybe, after Europe, my Russia will love me. The forecast was fully justified, although the artist had to wait half a century for recognition in his homeland. In 1973 he came to Moscow to open his personal exhibition in the Tretyakov Gallery. However, full-fledged recognition, accompanied by the love of the general public, happened after the death of Chagall - in perestroika times. In 1987, the Pushkin Museum staged a large retrospective of the master, which became wildly popular: the queue to the museum was occupied from the night. And a relatively recent, 2005, project of the Tretyakov Gallery called "Hello, Motherland!" enjoyed great success

The current exposition in the Engineering Corps can be considered a kind of set of footnotes and comments on the previous "folio".

There are no popularly beloved hits like "Walks over Vitebsk" or "Fiddler on the Roof" here, but there are one and a half hundred exhibits with a more chamber sound. Most of them are not familiar to our viewers. According to the curator of the exhibition, Ekaterina Selezneva (in her free time she works as the director of the international relations department of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation), almost all of these materials were nominated seven years ago for participation in the Hello, Motherland! project, but did not make it into the final composition. Presumably, primarily due to the fact that they faded against the backdrop of large-scale canvases. At the same time, it was decided to arrange in the indefinite future a separate exhibition of graphics and small-format painting in order to focus on the roots and origins of Chagall's art. As Meret Meyer, the artist's granddaughter, joked at a press conference, "if you liken the exhibition to a child, then seven years of gestation could lead to the birth of a certain monster." However, the “baby” presented to the public came out quite cute - at least without developmental deviations. Although you can’t call him a child prodigy either.

It's no secret that the art of Marc Chagall was the result of a powerful synthesis of several styles, manners and visual cultures at once. The artist folded his personal myth on a whim and inspiration, borrowing from around not so much ideas and images as "bridgeheads" for his own emotions. But in hindsight, a fair number of parallels can be identified, often quite unconscious.

If the organizers of the exhibition had really pursued the goal of exploring the "origins of the artist's creative language", they would not have limited themselves to including bronze menorahs, ritual glasses, Hanukkah lamps and other signs of shtetl life in the exposition.

Items of this kind, borrowed from the Russian Museum of Ethnography and the Museum of Jewish History in Russia, are extremely appropriate here, but clearly insufficient. And even a small collection of Russian popular prints still does not close the topic of "origins". For complete credibility, Orthodox icons would be required (Chagall highly valued them), and works by cubists and surrealists, and even selected works by Russian classics - from Alexander Ivanov to Mikhail Vrubel. In the catalog of the exhibition, such connections are traced, but in the exposition reality they are not visible. It is easy to see why: such a study would not only require additional (and considerable) organizational efforts, but would also unsettle the so-called "ordinary" viewers. The figure of Marc Chagall would cease to play the main and exclusive role; the public would have to wade through labyrinths of meanings to his works. From the point of view of the project's democratic nature, this approach must have seemed unacceptable to the organizers, although from the point of view of art history it looked very seductive.

But there is no evil without good. The minimization of attracted allusions makes it possible to cling to the work of Chagall directly, without intermediaries.

Although the bet is made on graphics, including printed ones, there is also painting here, so lovers of recognizable Chagall effects will not be left out. The impact of the canvas “Nude over Vitebsk” should be especially dramatic: it should be borne in mind that it was written in 1933, when the artist received two moral injuries at once.

The Nazis then burned a number of Chagall's works after the exhibition "Bolshevism in Art", and the French authorities refused to grant him citizenship, recalling the period of commissariat in Vitebsk. In a certain sense, this picture can be regarded as a session of spiritual self-healing.

However, almost everything in Chagall is autobiographical, even phantasmagoria. For example, the engraved illustrations for the book “My Life” (it is curious that the artist finished writing the memoir volume at the age of only 37) are filled with surreal details - and yet they are perceived almost as documentary evidence. All the more reliable are the portraits of family members - mother, wife Bella and daughter Ida, cousins, distant relatives. On this occasion, Chagall's phrase is recalled: "If my art did not play any role in the lives of my relatives, then their lives and their actions, on the contrary, greatly influenced my art."

Why not yet another "source of creative language"? The family theme at the exhibition is somewhat unexpectedly continued by fragments of the "Wedding Service" - ceramic dishes painted by the artist in honor of his daughter's marriage.

Meret Meyer claims that they often used this service during their grandfather's life in everyday life.

The exhibition fundamentally does not follow any chronologies, so that in the neighborhood in a single space you can find youthful sketches, and the famous etching series of illustrations for the Bible and Dead Souls (these are works of the 1920s - 1930s), and later tinted collages , which were not actually intended for the public, but served as sketches for monumental works, for example, for the Triumph of Music panel for the New York Metropolitan Opera. It is clear that the mixing of different periods of creativity also does not contribute to analytical perception. Although in the case of Chagall, such an exposition method partially justifies itself. Throughout his long life, he seemed to circle around his own emotions, among which one of the most important was longing for the lost Vitebsk. So gaps of tens of years between works do not seem so critical.

Tags: Marc Chagall, Tretyakov Gallery

Most Moscow museums are closed on Mondays. But this does not mean that the public does not have the opportunity to get acquainted with the beautiful. Especially for Mondays, the editors of the site launched a new section "10 Unknowns", in which we introduce you to ten works of world art, united by one theme. Print out our guide and feel free to take it to the museum starting from Tuesday.

From now on, a whole hall of the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val is dedicated to Marc Chagall: for the first time after the restoration, the entire cycle of panels created by the great avant-garde artist for the Moscow Jewish Theater was exhibited here, as well as one of the most famous works of the artist "Above the City".

Marc Chagall "Introduction to the Theatre", 1920

There are very few paintings by Marc Chagall in the permanent exhibition of the Tretyakov Gallery - only 12. But now, until the end of summer, here you can see a cycle of panels created by the artist for the Moscow Jewish Chamber Theater. The cycle was created in 1920, moved many times along with the theater, and when it was closed in 1949, the paintings ended up in the Tretyakov Gallery and waited a very long time for restoration. When Chagall came to Moscow in the mid-1970s, he was surprised that after all the vicissitudes associated with the fate of the theater, the work was generally saved. The artist signed the paintings, after which they were sent for restoration work. The updated paintings went on an exhibition tour of 45 cities and now they are finally at home. True, not for long - in the autumn they will be presented at a large exhibition in Canada.

Marc Chagall "Music" ("The Traveling Musician"), 1920

Chagall received an order for the design of scenery, having barely returned from Vitebsk, where he taught with Kazimir Malevich at an art school. In two months, the artist created nine works, but today only seven have survived. In the book "My Life", the master wrote: "Here is an opportunity to turn over the old Jewish theater with its psychological naturalism and fake beards. Finally, I can turn around here, on the walls, to express what I consider necessary for the revival of the national theater." It must be said that despite the real struggle between Malevich and Chagall for the reorganization of the educational art system, the artists had a strong influence on each other in terms of painting and drawing. The rivalry with Malevich, as well as the fact that Chagall lived and worked for a long time among the French avant-garde artists, are the key to understanding his pictorial system.

Marc Chagall "The Clock", 1914

Moishe Segal was born in Vitebsk on July 7, 1887 in a simple Jewish family. At the age of 19, he entered the "School of painting and drawing of the artist Pan", and a year later he moved to St. Petersburg. Here he begins to attend the drawing school at the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, the art studio of S. M. Seidenberg and the school of E. N. Zvantseva, where Chagall's idol, Lev Bakst, taught. Finding himself in a bustling artistic environment, he gets acquainted with Western artistic movements - French Fauvism, German Expressionism, Italian Futurism. Under the pseudonym Marc Chagall, the artist will begin to work only in 1911. Combining current trends, Jewish and autobiographical motifs and deep lyricism in his painting, Chagall managed to become one of the leaders of the world avant-garde. A huge role in the fate of the young artist was played by Deputy of the First State Duma Maxim Moiseevich Vinaver, who provided Chagall with a monthly allowance, for which he was able to leave for Paris. Arriving in France, the artist settled in the "Hive", where all the impoverished artistic intelligentsia of that time lived.

Marc Chagall "Wedding", 1918

Chagall constantly moved between St. Petersburg, Moscow and Vitebsk, and in 1910 he went to Paris, where at that time Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Henri Matisse were at the peak of their fame. But wherever he was, Chagall constantly turned to the theme of his native city and Jewish traditions. In the summer of 1909, while in Vitebsk, the artist met Bella Rosenfeld, the daughter of a jeweler. He recalled: "... She is silent, so am I. She looks - oh, her eyes! - I, too. As if we had known each other for a long time, and she knows everything about me: my childhood, my current life and what is happening to me will, as if she was always watching me, she was somewhere nearby, although I saw her for the first time. And I realized: this is my wife. Since then, Bella Rosenfeld has become his muse and the main character of many paintings.

Marc Chagall "Over the city", 1918

The painting "Above the City" has become one of the most recognizable works of Chagall. On it, the artist depicted himself with his wife Bella Rosenfeld flying over Vitebsk. The metaphorical lofty feelings and the brevity of being turned out to be the leading themes in Chagall's painting. And over time, this surreal-expressionist motif became more and more decorative and free. But at the same time, the appearance of a small provincial hometown has always remained unchanged, which, of course, also had a symbolic character.

Marc Chagall "Barbershop", 1914

Another picturesque motif in the work of Chagall was everyday life. He depicted the streets of Vitebsk, its inhabitants. A huge part of his memories, recorded in the book "My Life", are dedicated to his mother, father, grandparents. Through picturesque comparisons with great authors and works, Chagall recalls their life to incredible details: “Grandfather loved to listen to him thoughtfully. , spattered with rain splashes and traces of greasy fingers, "or:" My other uncle, Zyusya, is a hairdresser, one for all Liozno. He could work in Paris. Mustache, manners, look. But he lived in Liozno. He was the only star there "The star flaunted above the window and above the doors of his establishment. On the sign - a man with a napkin around his neck and a soapy cheek, next to the other - with a razor, about to stab him."

Marc Chagall "Wounded Soldier", 1914

In the summer of 1914 the artist arrived in Vitebsk, but in September 1915 Chagall left for Petrograd and joined the Military Industrial Committee. During the First World War, the artist was forced to stay in Russia. Soon, with the assistance of Anatoly Vasilievich Lunacharsky, he received the post of commissioner for arts in the Vitebsk province, where he founded the Vitebsk Art School, where he invited his teacher Yudel Pen, his student El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich to teach. In 1920, Chagall went to Moscow to complete an order for the Moscow Jewish Theater, and then to Paris, where, with the assistance of the great philanthropist and collector, patron of the Cubists, Ambroiso Vollard, he received French citizenship.

Marc Chagall "Window in the country", 1915

Those few years spent by the artist in Vitebsk became the most realistic in terms of painting. Chagall created a whole series of paintings and graphic works, which depict the motifs of provincial life in Vitebsk, cleansed of symbolism. Later, having moved to Paris, he called this city his "second Vitebsk", but he never portrayed it in a similar manner. He wrote: “I only saw Petrograd, Moscow, the town of Liozno and Vitebsk. But Vitebsk is a special place, a poor, provincial town. , hundreds of synagogues, butcher shops, passers-by. Is this Russia? This is only my hometown, where I returned again. "

Marc Chagall "View from the window. Vitebsk", 1915

“It was during this visit that I wrote the Vitebsk series of 1914,” Chagall recalled. “I wrote everything that caught my eye. But only at home, looking out of the window, and I didn’t walk the streets with a sketchbook. ." When, half a century later, in 1964, Chagall painted the ceiling of the Parisian Opera Garnier, he was an artist of a completely different scale. From a Vitebsk Jewish painter, he turned into a great world-famous master.

Marc Chagall "Lilies of the valley", 1916

Marc Chagall died on March 28, 1985 at the age of 97. He witnessed two world wars, revolutions, the rise and fall of Suprematism and the Russian avant-garde in general, the triumph of Andy Warhol and pop art, survived Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles, while remaining an artist who retained the traditional understanding of painting and art. And the fact that today at least a small part of his works, which are in the largest museums of the world, can be seen in Moscow is an incredible success.

He lived for almost a century, was a Soviet commissar, but gained world fame in exile. The largest exhibition of paintings by Marc Chagall has opened in Moscow. It is called "Hello Motherland": the famous artist is our compatriot.

He was born at the end of the century before last in Vitebsk. The canvases were brought literally from all over the world: from Russian and foreign museums, as well as from private collections. For the first time, visitors to the exhibition will see the works of Chagall brought together - from early Vitebsk works to masterpieces of the French period.

One of the first to see the exposition was our correspondent Alexander Kazakevich. Through the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery, he walked with the granddaughters of the great master.

It is so officially announced that today is the opening of the largest exhibition of Marc Chagall. In fact, the exhibition opened a little earlier, when two of his granddaughters flew in from Paris. They walked enchanted among the still unassembled gigantic exposition. Especially long lingering at the portraits of Bella Chagall - their Russian grandmother.

Meret Meyer, Chagall's granddaughter: "This is my grandmother, but the little figure is my mother, here she is probably only a year old."

These magical flights and Bella's hugs became a favorite theme of Mark Zakharovich. Meret knows that she is very similar to her grandmother.

Meret Meyer, Chagall's granddaughter: "I knew my grandmother only from pictures. This one is my favorite, she was always in my parents' house and I always felt how much tenderness and love comes from her."

Bella Meyer, Chagall's granddaughter: "I was named after my grandmother, so she was my ideal, which I always imitated."

But it was the granddaughters who had to say whether it was possible or not to collect the most famous paintings of the master from all over the world - from the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, museums in New York, Paris, Nice, private collections. So full of Chagall has not yet been collected.

In the Tretyakov Gallery, Chagall has a special relationship, he is called the "breadwinner" here, because even in the most difficult times his paintings were always invited to participate in Western exhibitions - this was paid for and replenished the small budget of the Tretyakov Gallery.

For gallery employees, there are many intimate details here. These are Chagall's works for the Jewish theatre. When he flew to the USSR in 1973, he wept when he saw that they had been preserved, and put his autographs on the works, confusing Latin and Cyrillic letters from excitement.

Ekaterina Selezneva, curator of the exhibition: "We all owe Chagall, and that's why today we read the title as "Hello, Chagall".

The mysterious man and his magical art. He compared Paris with Vitebsk, from where he had to emigrate, and his work with the work of Charlie Chaplin. He also reminded the 20th century of the little man in his joys and his love. Chagall wrote: "Perhaps Europe will love me, and with it my Russia." To see these canvases together in Moscow, true connoisseurs of Chagall flew from Europe and America. For example, Chagall's "Trinity" according to his will is forbidden to be taken out of the Museum of Nice. But here she is in Moscow. As an exception. And all visitors understand that once again such a world phenomenon of the master to his homeland may not happen again.

M.Z. Chagall (1887–1985)