Greeting Card (Woman with a Large Bird and Moon) 1976

This is a small greeting card by Marc Chagall with a woman, a large bird, and a moon, made using lithography. You can see how Chagall approaches artmaking as a process; the image feels as though it has been built up through layers of intuitive mark-making. I'm really drawn to the way the textures are created. The bird's feathers are a flurry of marks, and the woman's hair is a mass of scribbled curls. It gives the whole piece a sense of movement, as though everything is alive and buzzing with energy. Look at the way the pink on the woman’s cheek mirrors the pink on the bird's head and neck, and how this links the figures together. Chagall's use of color is really interesting here too. The palette is quite muted, mostly blacks and greys, with little touches of pink. This card reminds me of Joan Miró, another artist who wasn't afraid to embrace childlike imagery. What I love most about this piece is its ambiguity; it's open to so many interpretations.