Marc Chagall was born into a strict Jewish family for whom the ban on representations of the human figure had the weight of dogma. A failure in the entrance examination for the Stieglitz School did not stop Chagall from later joining that famous school founded by the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and directed by Nicholas Roerich. Chagall moved to Paris in 1910. The city was his ldquo;second Vitebskrdquo;. At first; isolated in the little room on the Impasse du Maine at La Ruche; Chagall soon found numerous compatriots also attracted by the prestige of Paris: Lipchitz; Zadkine; Archipenko and Soutine; all of whom were to maintain the ldquo;smellrdquo; of his native land. From his very arrival Chagall wanted to ldquo;discover everythingrdquo;. And to his dazzled eyes painting did indeed reveal itself. Even the most attentive and partial observer is at times unable to distinguish the ldquo;Parisianrdquo;; Chagall from the ldquo;Vitebskianrdquo;. The artist was not full of contradictions; nor was he a split personality; but he always remained different; he looked around and within himself and at the surrounding world; and he used his present thoughts and recollections. He had an utterly poetical mode of thought that enabled him to pursue such a complex course. Chagall was endowed with a sort of stylistic immunity: he enriched himself without destroying anything of his own inner structure. Admiring the works of others he studied them ingenuously; ridding himself of his youthful awkwardness; yet never losing his authenticity for a moment.At times Chagall seemed to look at the world through magic crystal ndash; overloaded with artistic experimentation ndash; of the Ecole de Paris. In such cases he would embark on a subtle and serious play with the various discoveries of the turn of the century and turned his prophetic gaze like that of a biblical youth; to look at himself ironically and thoughtfully in the mirror. Naturally; it totally and uneclectically reflected the painterly discoveries of Ceacute;zanne; the delicate inspiration of Modigliani; and the complex surface rhythms recalling the experiments of the early Cubists (See-Portrait at the Easel; 1914). Despite the analyses which nowadays illuminate the painterrsquo;s Judaeo-Russian sources; inherited or borrowed but always sublime; and his formal relationships; there is always some share of mystery in Chagallrsquo;s art. The mystery perhaps lies in the very nature of his art; in which he uses his experiences and memories. Painting truly is life; and perhaps life is painting.
#3021440 in eBooks 2011-12-22 2011-12-22File Name: B00CR6CYJA
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Great for novices like me!By Joe ShmoeI was looking for a songbook so that I could play the guitar during my familys annual Christmas eve carol singing. I know the basic chords; but the book has all the chords you would need anyways. It has all the lyrics and its easy to follow along. It comes with some suggested strumming patterns; but as long as you can keep some sort of rhythm; the songs are going to sound right no matter what.There are so many songs in here; with only a few missing (mentioned in other reviews); but almost all the favorites are in there; and a few surprises too (i.e. "Santa Baby"). It even has "The Marvelous Toy" a song which I dont really think of as a Christmas song; but Ive always liked; so Im happy its there. Some of the songs have different titles; such as "Old Toy Trains"/"Little Toy Trains" (Cant remember the name in the book off the top of my head); so if you dont see the song immediately; keep looking and it will probably be there (most are titled the way you would think)- There are A LOT of songs. 200! You may find some new favourites.It has a spiral-ish binding (the kind that kind of grabs the spine from either side); and the covers are semi-laminated. Decent enough to take out once a year- Im sure it will last a long time.Overall it is certainly worth the low price; and has made X-mas a lot more fun for me and my family. I recommend it for sure!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. MY SEARCH IS OVER!!!By CustomerIve spend a lot of money and wasted down load time trying to find christmas songs on my level that sounded good. This is definitely it!! This will be the last Christmas book Ill ever need to buy.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This book solves that problem even though it does have Rocking around the Xmas Tree since it has a great many CarolsBy denisI was interested in sacred Carols (EG not rocking around the Xmas tree) that are not in Eflat and other non guitar friendly keys. This book solves that problem even though it does have Rocking around the Xmas Tree since it has a great many Carols; including a favorite of my mother; Winds Through the Olive Trees which is rather obscure. I can recommend this book without any caveats to guitar players who are familiar with the melodies of the Carols or Utube as there is no CD included with the book.