Marc Chagal ceilling in the Paris Opera House
by RicardMN Photography
Title
Marc Chagal ceilling in the Paris Opera House
Artist
RicardMN Photography
Medium
Photograph
Description
The Palais Garnier (English: Garnier Palace) is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier.
In 1963, Chagall was commissioned to paint the new ceiling for the Paris Opera, a majestic 19th-century building and national monument. Andr� Malraux, France's Minister of Culture wanted something unique and decided Chagall would be the ideal artist. However, this choice of artist caused controversy: some objected to having a Russian Jew decorate a French national monument; others disliked the ceiling of the historic building being painted by a modern artist.
Nonetheless, Chagall continued the project which took the 77-year-old artist a year to complete. The final canvas was nearly 2,400 square feet (220 sq. meters) and required 440 pounds of paint. It had five sections which were glued to polyester panels and hoisted up to the 70-foot (21 m) ceiling. The images Chagall painted on the canvas paid tribute to the composers Mozart, Wagner, Mussorgsky, Berlioz and Ravel, as well as to famous actors and dancers.
It was presented to the public on 23 September 1964 in the presence of Malraux and 2,100 invited guests.
Uploaded
August 1st, 2013
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Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 views Groups Special Features Nominations For Promotion #22 . Please help your fellow artists by visiting and passing on the love to another artist in the the 1000 Views Group....L/F/Tw