Le grand cirque 1984

Marc Chagall made this painting, Le grand cirque, using oils, maybe with big house-painting brushes, judging by the scale of the marks and how much the white ground shows through! I imagine him, like me, always trying to find new ways to approach the canvas, searching for that sweet spot between control and chaos. In this circus scene, the paint feels thinned out, almost watery, like he’s letting the colors bleed and blend. It makes me wonder what he was thinking as he layered these vibrant blues, reds, and greens. I see the acrobats and animals, a whirling dervish of color. Is that a sun or a spotlight? Then there is the way he paints that horse – it reminds me of de Kooning's horses, so full of life and movement, only Chagall's has a dreamlike whimsy. These artists, they’re all in a conversation with one another, you know? Painting is like that – an ongoing exchange, a constant questioning. It’s not about answers, but more about how we keep the conversation going.