The Frog that Wished to Make Herself as Big as the Ox 1927 - 1930

Marc Chagall made this etching, The Frog that Wished to Make Herself as Big as the Ox, and it’s all about the lines, isn’t it? Look at how they swarm and build up tone. This isn’t just an image; it's a whole world built from tiny, deliberate scratches. Up close, you can see how the ink catches in the paper’s texture. The ox looms, a huge mass of scribbled darkness, while the frog by comparison is just a few tentative marks. There is something very interesting in the bottom left with the circular vessel, it gives us a clear and precise shape to focus on, and an opportunity to appreciate the contrast of the textures and forms. Chagall loved dreams and folklore and this print is full of the same spirit. It reminds me a bit of Klee, both of them pulling something whimsical and deeply felt out of simple materials. Art like this reminds us that we can start with nothing but a blank slate and a few lines, and end up someplace magical.