The Yellow Sun 1968

Marc Chagall made this lithograph print, using ink on paper, in 1969. Look at the floating figures and that big, bright sun dominating the composition! It's such a playful image; I can just imagine Chagall happily layering these whimsical motifs, trying one thing and then another. I bet he was thinking about love when he made it, look at that embrace! The colour palette is muted, full of earthy browns and greens, with pops of brighter hues that create a sense of dreaminess. Notice how the figure is rendered with broad, confident strokes? You can almost feel the energy of his hand as he worked. Then see how he has used thin black lines to suggest the texture of the buildings in the distance and the radiating energy of the sun? The materiality is amazing. Chagall's style, with its blend of figuration and abstraction, reminds me of other artists who weren't afraid to mix it up, like Joan Miró or even some of the later works of Picasso. Like all of us, artists are always having a conversation with each other, across time and space. What do you think Chagall is saying to us?