Birthday 1915

Marc Chagall made this oil painting called, Birthday. It feels like a memory, not quite real, but emotionally true. The paint is brushed on in thin layers, except for some juicy spots that build up like the thick white impasto on the woman's collar. It gives her a kind of otherworldly presence, as if she’s floating in this crimson room. The red seems to vibrate off the surface, making me think about passion and celebration. It makes me think about Matisse, with his fearless color and flattened perspectives. The painting is not trying to trick you into thinking it’s a window. It’s a flat surface, alive with color and feeling. Look at the way Chagall painted the man bending to kiss the woman, defying gravity, the way his body folds and stretches. The painting is a love song; Chagall painted with such vulnerability, letting us into his world of dreams and memories.