Critique 2

Marc Chagall was borne on July 7th 1887 and died on March 28 1985 at the ripe old age of ninety eight. He was the oldest of nine children in a tight net Jewish family, in Belarus where he studied art. He later moved to Paris where he continued his studies. He was forced to flee the country during the Nazi occupation of France and ended up living in the United States. Perhaps due to this background Chagall’s works were consistently appealing to the unconscious mind and have a certain unreality, while staying somewhat believable. This knack for the unusual and his tendency to never fully embrace a singular style, though taking some influence from both cubism and fauvism, have lead to a unique style that this painting “the war” emphasizes.
The war is a representation of a desperate, eternal struggle between the forces of heaven and those of hell. The composition of the piece is very important. The forces of good are arranged on the right side and the forces of evil are arranged on the left while the common people are being shepherded towards either side. The darkest portion of the painting is met by the lightest in a stunning chiaroscuro that makes up the focal point of “the war.” Despite the supposed war that is taking place the different sides react together in harmony representing the whole picture creating balance and making the picture more complete. The soft shades and subtle changes are what makes this painting so real despite the obvious fantasy aspects it incorporates.