MASTERPIECES FROM THE BEN URI COLLECTION
MARC CHAGALL (1887-1985)
APOCALYPSE EN LILAS, CAPRICCIO
1945-47
Gouache, pencil, Indian wash ink and Indian ink on paper
Signed (lower left): 'Chagall'
MARC CHAGALL
Marc Chagall's poignant work, Apocalypse en Lilas, Capriccio, reflects a profound artistic and emotional reaction to the Holocaust Executed in a fluid and expressive ink and wash technique, the composition centers on a crucified Christ-like figure symbolizing universal suffering and martyrdom Set against a somber lilac ba-
ckdrop, Chagall’s scene integrates motifs of personal trauma, Jewish symbolism, and historical tragedy The figure of Christ, whose arms merge into a clock indicating midnight, alludes to the critical moment of history the impending doom and irreversible nature of wartime atrocities. Beneath, a monstrous figure bearing Nazi insignia aggressively destabilizes the crucifixion ladder, embodying oppressive forces, while surrounding vignettes portray scenes of suffering, displacement, and chaos, emphasizing human anguish Stylistically and thematically, the drawing synthesizes elements from Chagall’s earlier works: folkloric imagery, symbolic animals, and vivid emotional narratives This powerful combination serves as a visual indictment of violence, persecution, and moral collapse under fascism Produced shortly after the artist resumed painting following a period of profound grief triggered by personal loss and revelations of Holocaust atrocities, this work exemplifies Chagall’s compelling engagement with themes of suffering, resilience, and remembrance, marking it as a vital expression within both his oeuvre and Holocaust-era artistic responses.
Artist Marc Chagall was born into a Jewish family in the town of Vitebsk, Russia (now in Belarus) on 7 July 1887. He attended a traditional Jewish school and a Russian high school, moving to St Petersburg in 1907 where he studied at the Imperial School for the Protection of the Fine Arts, nd later at the Zvantseva School,
a led by Léon Bakst. In May 1911, Chagall arrived in Paris, where he enrolled at the Académie de La Palette and settled at La Ruche (the Beehive) studios in Montparnasse, mixing with other Jewish immigrant artists, subsequently known as the Ecole de Paris juifs, including Modigliani and Chaïm Soutine, as well as key figures in French modernism, among them Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay Chagall frequently used animals for symbolic purposes in his dream-like paintings that brought together aspects of French tradition with Russian folklore and Jewish motifs His first solo exhibition took place at Der Sturm Gallery in Berlin, in 1914 and he returned to Russia to visit his family the same year. During his visit, the outbreak of the First World War prevented his return to Paris and following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, he was appointed Fine Arts Commissar for the province of Vitebsk In 1922 he left again for Berlin, where his work was published by the periodical Der Sturm
In 1923 Chagall returned to Paris, where he stayed until 1940, becoming a French citizen in 1937 He visited Palestine in 1931 Following the German occupation in May 1940, Chagall and his wife Bella remained in 'Vichy France', until one year later, with help from Alfred Barr of the New York Museum of Modern Art (who added Chagall’s name to that of prominent artists and intellectuals at risk), the American journalist Varian Fry and American Vice-Consul in Marseilles, Hiram Bingham IV, the Chagalls escaped to the USA on forged visas They found refuge in New York, where Chagall remained for the rest of the war, however, after Bella's sudden death in September 1944, Chagall plunged into mourning and stopped painting until the following April when news of the Holcaust breaking through pathé newsreels compelled his artistic response In 1946 a major Chagall retrospective was held at The Museum of Modern Art; he remained in America for a further two years before returning to France in 1948, and settling in the south-eastern town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence in 1952 In later life, Chagall produced the windows for the synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He also accepted commssions for stained-glass schemes for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, the Peace Window for the UN in New York (1963-64), and the windows in memory of Sarah d'Avigdor-Goldsmid at Tudeley chapel in Kent (1968-85) Marc Chagall died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France on 28 March 1985 The Musée National Marc Chagall is in Nice and his work is in international collections all over the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme, Paris; and in the UK, the Ben Uri Collection, and the Tate, London
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COLLECTION: https://benuri org/collections/
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