Chagall: Fantasies for the Stage

The performing arts were a significant source of inspiration for Marc Chagall: he depicted musicians in many of his paintings, collaborated on set designs for the Ballets Russes in 1911, created murals and theatrical productions for the Moscow State Jewish Theatre in the 1920s, and designed costumes and sets for ballet and opera from the 1940s to the 1960s. This exhibition concentrates on Chagall’s four productions for the stage – the ballets Aleko, set to music by Tchaikovsky, The Firebird by Stravinsky, Daphnis and Chloé by Ravel, and Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. The exhibition features the artist’s vibrant designs – some of which have never been exhibited since they appeared on stage – and also presents a selection of important paintings, works on paper, and documentary footage of original performances. Find out more about the Chagall exhibition from LACMA’s website.

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Set design by Marc Chagall for Die Zauberlote (The Magic Flute), February 1967, Metropolitan Opera, New York. © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris, photo: Frank Dunand/Metropolitan Opera Archives

Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers (1912), Marc Chagall. © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris, photo: Banque d’images, ADAGP/Art Resource, NY

David with a Mandolin (1914), Marc Chagall. © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris, photo © 2017 Archives Marc et Ida Chagall, Paris

Costume design by Marc Chagall for The Firebird: Green Monster, 1945. © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris, photo © 2017 Archives Marc et Ida Chagall, Paris

Study for Backdrop for Aleko: A Wheatfield on a Summer’s Afternoon (Scene III), 1942, Marc Chagall. © 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris, digital image © 2017 The Museum of Modern Art/licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY

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