Orphée
1969
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
stone and glass mosaic
Dimensions
overall size: 302.9 x 517.84 cm (119 1/4 x 203 7/8 in.)
Classification
Decorative Art
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The John U. and Evelyn S. Nef Collection
Accession Number
2011.60.104.1-10
Art Historical Context
Marc Chagall's *Orphée* (1969) is a monumental stone and glass mosaic that commands attention in the National Gallery of's collection of decorative arts. Measuring an impressive 302.9 x 517.84 cm, this large-scale work—part of The John U. and Evelyn S. Nef Collection—transforms mythic tale into a vibrant, enduring public statement. The medium of mosaic, with its tiny tesserae of stone and shimmering glass, allows for luminous color play and remarkable durability, ideal for architectural settings where light animates the surface throughout the day. Chagall, the renowned Russian-French artist (...
About the Artist
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall, born Moishe Shagal on July 7, 1887, in Liozna near Vitebsk in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), grew up as the eldest of nine children in a devout Jewish family confined to the Pale of Settlement. His father worked as a herring merchant's porter, while his mother sold groceries from home, instilling in young Chagall a deep connection to Hasidic Judaism and Eastern European folklore a...