Man with Sideburns 1922 - 1923

This is Marc Chagall’s “Man with Sideburns,” made with lithographic crayon and tusche. Look at the way the figure emerges out of the ground. The face is built up through a series of marks and lines, the artist shifting and adjusting, searching, feeling his way into the image. I think about Chagall making this work, probably in a print shop, drawing directly onto the lithographic stone. He's using a crayon to build up the tones, and liquid tusche for darker blacks. The lithographic crayon creates a beautiful, velvety texture, while the tusche gives a fluid quality to the shadows. Notice the man's eyes, how they look right out at you, engaging you in their gaze. The sideburns themselves, dark and curly, almost seem to have a life of their own. I love how the whole image feels both solid and dreamlike. You can see Chagall’s engagement with expressionism. It’s part of a conversation that artists have been having for centuries. I always think about how we learn from and inspire one another across time.