Calvary 1912

This is Marc Chagall’s “Calvary,” and he painted it with oil on canvas. Look at the way he's built up these forms, color by color. Each shape seems to be in conversation with the next. Chagall's working with greens and reds here, creating an almost dreamlike space. The texture is smooth, but there's a lot of variation in how the paint is applied. Some areas are transparent, letting the underpainting peek through, while others are more opaque, creating depth and contrast. Notice the figure in the top centre, a ghostly pale blue against the dark green. His arms outstretched, floating, hovering, almost like a memory. Chagall reminds me a bit of Kandinsky, in the way he uses color and form to evoke emotion. You see it wasn't just about depicting reality, but about exploring the inner world, and the way art can reflect our deepest feelings. I love how much ambiguity there is in this piece, it allows for endless interpretations.