Chagall's Love of Life

The Red Flowers painted by Chagall in 1950

The Macao Museum of Art might not be very big, but it holds marvelous shows -- that are free!

Last year it was on Chinese artist Zhang Daqian's visits to the Dunhuang caves in Gansu province, and this time to coincide with Le French May, a show on Marc Chagall on his years in Southern France.

Three years ago we went to Nice and visited the Musee National Marc Chagall. The pieces on display were massive, requiring viewers to stand or sit back to soak in everything that was going on in each canvas.

One of Chagall's works converted into a tapestry

Here it was the opposite -- the vast majority were small pieces that required intimate viewing to fully appreciate the colours, emotions and imaginative compositions the artist made.

It also revealed how multi-faceted an artist Chagall was -- not only did he paint on canvas, but was also made lithographs, designed ballet costumes and sets, as well as painted murals, ceilings and created stained glass pieces in cathedrals. Oh and collaborated with weavers to make tapestries too.

He was born a Hassidic Jew in Vitebsk in 1887 and the theme of the Bible would resonate throughout his work. He described the Bible "like an echo of nature and this secret I have tried to transmit".

One of his impressive projects were the stained glass windows for Hadassah University Medical Centre in Jerusalem, where the 12 panels are about the 12 tribes of Israel, the descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob.

A relatively empty museum showing fantastic works of art

His life had its ups and downs. His first wife Bella Rosenfeld died in 1944, but then two years later he would have a son with an English woman, Virginia Haggard McNeil, who would later leave him. Chagall would marry again, a woman 25 years younger, Valentina Brodsky, who would manage his affairs so that he could focus on his art.

In the 1950s he moved to the south of France and was taken by the warm light, and the deep blue Mediterranean sea. Intense colours took centre stage and many of his works feature deep blues along with other symbols like sirens, fish, and mythical beings.

The paintings look so soaked through with colour that they seem so optimistic, playful, romantic and lush.

Deep colours in Siren and Fish, 1956-60

In 1952 and 1954 he went to Greece as he was commissioned by publisher Teriade to do illustrations of the pastoral romance of Daphinus and Chloe. He seemed immensely inspired by this couple and created numerous sketches of them.

He also worked on Stravinsky's The Firebird in 1945-46 and the exhibition displays several of the costumes on mannequins. The clothing is described as very light and during fittings, he would personally paint them. Over the years the costumes were worn and mended, but now they are museum pieces. Next to the display was a video showing the performers dancing in the costumes. Chagall was ahead of his time.

Despite being from Russia, Chagall applied for and was approved for citizenship in France. Many of his commissions were there, including painting the ceiling of the Opera de Paris. He was 77 years old at the time, but personally painted the 220 square metre area. The design pays tribute to 14 composers and their works.

One of many paintings on Daphinus and Chloe

He also made "Biblical Message" in 1955, featuring 12 large oil paintings that illustrate Genesis and Exodus that he donated to the French state in 1966 and wanted them exhibited together. Chagall spent time working on the sketches and small-scale oil paintings that can also be seen in the show.

In 1985 he died at the age of 98 and was buried in Saint-Paul de Vence.

I learned a lot more about Chagall and his life thanks to this show, that was only visited by a handful of other people in the late afternoon.

Even better is that I finally figured out that it is located behind Sands casino; just take the shuttle to Sands and it's a five-minute walk to the museum.

Marc Chagall, Light and Colour in Southern France

Until August 26

Macao Museum of Art

Av. Xian Xing Hai

Macau

(853) 8791 9814
http://www.mam.gov.mo/e/index

Seeing Old Nice and Marc Chagall

A breathtaking view of Nice, known as the Cote d'Azur

Today we had a full day in Nice on our own and we wandered down to the flower market at Cours Saleya, where we saw lots of stalls selling fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, sea salts mixed with herbs and pepper, a wide variety of herbs and spices, and even seafood.

Then we walked a long the Promenade des Anglais -- which by the way is the same place Chinese billionaire Li Jinyuan took 6,500 of his employees for an incentive trip earlier this year.

Beautiful fluffy light pink peonies in bloom!

He celebrated his company Tiens' 20th anniversary by having the staff in sky blue uniforms spell out "Tiens Dream is Nice in Cote d'Azur".

When we visited today we thought it was nice that the rainbow flag was flying right next to the Chinese one...

We also dipped our feet into the Mediterranean -- but not without some effort walking on the rocks -- there's no sand! -- and boy did it hurt! But I have to say it was like Chinese foot massages, the rounded rocks pressing on various parts of our feet and afterwards I was surprisingly more relaxed!

Zucchinis including their flowers (left) are for sale!

The water was chilly, but not freezing -- perfect complement to the already hot temperatures at around 10.30am.

Nearby is a large park up on a hill, at the end of Promenade desk Anglais (that becomes Quai des Etats-Unis). We went up to the elevator to have a wonderful panoramic view of the city, from the deep blue Mediterranean sea to the terracotta-tiled roofs dotted all over the city.

Then we went back down to wander through the old part of the city, with its narrow alleyways -- and hence hardly any vehicular traffic. We managed to find the main cathedral St Reparate, with its distinctive yellow tiled domed roof.

The water by the beach is very clear, though covered in rocks

After lunch at the nearby square where the cathedral is located, we set off for the Marc Chagall Museum. It was near impossible to flag a taxi -- why aren't there many in a tourist town like this? But we stumbled on a backpacker information place and the kind woman there who was not French gave us directions on how to take the bus.

We managed to squeeze onto the bus for 1.5 euros each, and after about five stops arrived at Musee Marc Chagall. The building is modern and minimalist on the outside, with lots of olive trees in front.

The museum was inaugurated on July 7, 1973, Marc Chagall's 86th birthday. It is the first time a national museum was devoted to an artist in his lifetime.

Cathedral St Reparate with its dome at the back

The place housing works Chagall and his wife Valentina donated to the state in 1966 and 1972. Most of the pieces are related to the Old Testament in the Bible, as Chagall was Jewish.

Many of the paintings we saw were vibrant, full of colours and fantastical images that seemed to be imaginary and whimsical, though at the same time full of Biblical meanings, either full of hope or despair, but also lots of love.

There are many figures of women gently cradling babies, or men embracing women, and lots of symbols in the paintings to illustrate lessons in the Bible.

Not only did Chagall dabble in paintings, but also tapestries, mosaics and stained glass, which of course meant relying on others to execute his designs. As he grew older he took on commissions with greater importance.

Chagall's paintings here have Old Testament associations

As for his association with Nice, Chagall first came here in 1926 and the flowers at the market left a deep impression on him; he returned after World War II. He didn't live in Nice per se, but drew many pictures of the "Bay of Angels", featuring lovers, mermaids, fish, and bouquets of flowers.

Looking at the large body of work in the museum, it seemed like Chagall wasn't afraid to experiment and very determined about what he wanted to do. He seems like a dynamic character who was compelled to make art.

We were surprised for a national museum not to offer brochures about the place to give more information about Chagall and his work, not even nice ticket stubs to remember the place by!

Chagall's homage to the Cote d'Azur below

Then we caught the bus back into town. I handed the bus driver exact change for the four of us, but he didn't take the money, saying he had no more tickets to give out, and yet let us on the bus! Is this why the French are having financial issues?!