Marc Chagall - The Fiddler - 1911 - 95 x 69 cm - 37 x 27 in - oil on canvas

Chagall not only understood spatial planes, he masterfully shows us the playful side of this wonderful consideration.

Let’s begin with the line that creates the triangle at the top right.  Do you feel the light blue and the red in front of the triangle?  This is wonderful and sophisticated play.

There are also a couple of right angles creating other minor planes.  One is at the chimney and the other is below, pointing at the fiddler’s head.  I hope you can feel the planes they provide.

Now to the edge of the roof at the front of the house and how it is integrated with the above background shape at the top and to the fiddler’s coat.  I love his coat.  Chagall made the coat a rhythmic shape, rather than disrupting the composition with depiction.  Very impressive!

Ask yourself why is the boy’s right leg white?  His left leg is parallel and supporting the angle of the roof and fiddler’s coat.

I’ll finish with that little tree at the left and how it is harmony.  There are more notes and I hope you enjoy discovering them.

Remember this is knowledge and poetry, not formula, and Chagall was a true master of twentieth century painting.