Explore Art: Mini Marc Chagall Lesson

I introduced Cy to a new artist this weekend.  Something fun that I knew would inspire a little art making.  Marc Chagall is a modernist painter who dabbled in a little bit of everything from expressionism, symbolism, cubism and fauvism.

Chagall is a great artist to look at with children.  His work is often "fancy free" and at times "childish" it is inspired by his own childhood, scriptures, Russian folk art and icon paintings.  Chagall provokes thoughts of fantasy, dreams and childhood imagination.

wikipedia.org

Chagall's Me and My Village is one of his most recognizable paintings.  It also illustrates a few of his styles, Chagall wastes no space in using every portion of his canvas, he is also well noted for bold, bright and vibrant color reminiscent of the Fauvist.  You can see Chagall's interest in Cubism in this image, his use of multiple view points and geometric shapes to create an image.

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

Chagall considered his style and images part of his own personal language, symbols and images that were meaningful to him.  He is also recognized for his everyday scenes and quirky motifs like the fiddler.  

Chagall is just a fun artist to look at with children, it gets down to their level. Images and scenes are recognizable while also being fun and playful.  They provoke creativity and imagination as children see it's okay to express yourself and dream in the world of art.

Google Marc Chagall and take a look at some of the images that come up from his paintings.  Let your child look on and open up an art discussion. 

What do they think of the artwork?

How does it make them feel?

What do they see?  Does it look like real life or a dream?

How would you make a dream/ fantasy picture?

What colors would you use?

-and so on, see where the conversation goes and if they'll be inspired for a little art making when you're done.

Here's Cy's Chagall inspired art work:

His pink circus girl who later turned into the ballerina.  He was using "mixed media" something else new we were talking about- crayons, markers and watercolors. 

You never know where art or life will take you -- enjoy the moment