Student Name: Christina Sookdeo

ID Number: 52927

Course Code: EDFN102B

Course Title: Visual Arts in Education

Course Instructor: Cyril Harripaul

Year 2- Semester 1

Assignment: ART CRITICISM

Art Criticism on Marc Chagall’s ‘Paris through the Window’

Marc Chagall, a dedicated Russian-French artist, never completely aligned himself to one

specific art movement. He was known for his dream-like paintings and among these was the

famous painting of ‘Paris through the window’ done in 1913.

Description: What do I see?

In "Paris Through a Window," many things can be seen such as a human-headed yellow

cat perched on a window sill, a chair with a collection of flowers at the back, the Eiffel Tower

looming over many other buildings, a parachute-jumper descending on the right tower; an

upside-down train, two figures of a man and a woman floating, and a man in a red suit with two

faces also called a Janus-faced figure, holding a small yellow heart in his blue palm. The primary

colors of red, yellow and blue are used in this painting as well as white, shades of brown, violet

and green.

Analysis: How are elements and principles of art used?

Elements of Art/Design

Through my observation of this painting I have been able to analyze the elements and

principles of this art piece. Chagall used color in unusual and creative ways in this painting, such

as the blue-faced man, the bright yellow cat, and the multicolored sky. This adds interest and

makes the painting unique. The lines portrayed are straight, curvy. The straight lines can be seen

in the window pane, several buildings surrounding the Eiffel Tower and also in the sky’s

background. The curvy lines are seen in the cat’s figure, the Janus- faced man in the corner, the

chair at the left of the painting and also the lower section of the Eiffel Tower.

The shapes that Chagall painted are very creative and create the ‘dream-like’ atmosphere

in this piece. The shapes that are used are geometric shapes such as rectangles and squares for

the buildings, the upside down train and a triangle for the parachute. Naturalistic shapes such as

the flowers behind the chair, the figures of the floating man and woman and the cat are present

also. Chagall’s form in his art piece is flattened and the buildings and window pane is two

dimensional. He creates the illusion of three dimensional forms in his painting by the flowers and

the chair and also the Janus-faced man.

The space is evenly distributed as the bottom half of the painting is crowded space with

buildings, the upside down train, the cat, Janus-faced man and chair. However the top half of the

painting is balanced and flattened with less objects, less clarity and more mixture of color for the

sky background. The texture of the painting varies in different areas. The sky’s background

seems smooth with a cotton-like feel but, the Eiffel Tower seems jagged on the edges whilst the

face of the man seems smooth and shiny. The patterns can be seen in the red strip of wall behind

the Janus-faced man with tiny dots and also in the sky’s background an abstract pattern is

blended together through various colors and lines.

Principles of Art/Design

Chagall uses the primary colors of red, yellow and blue throughout the painting, in different

proportions continuously to create a sense of unity. The geometric shapes also create unity

within the city scope of Paris and also the cat and Janus-faced man have human like faces that

are similar. The buildings and window form the bottom half and left corner of the painting whilst

the remaining right corner is spacious with just the Eiffel Tower and the man in the parachute.

This creates an informal balance in his work of art. There is a slight contrast of green to red on

the window pane and the window itself. There is also a contrast in the bleak brown shades of the

landscape compared to the bright shades used for the skies. The emphasis in this painting is on

the cat with the human face. However, the Janus-headed man also catches my attention whilst

observing the painting. Chagall creates a sense of movement starting at the top left hand of the

painting in the skies, moving from different colors and shades to another, then moving along to

the mid-section with the buildings blending into each other and finally reaching to bottom where

the focus is on the cat and the Janus-faced man. Throughout the painting, the primary colors of

red, blue and yellow are repeated to create a rhythm as well as the upside down figures of the

train and the floating man and woman which forms a pattern. The Eiffel Tower is the tallest

object in this painting compared to smaller buildings looming beneath it. The man in the

parachute is also small compared to the Janus-faced man which brings out a sense of proportion

in this piece of art.

Interpretation: What is the artist trying to communicate?

From my understanding and observation of this artwork, it has reached out to me by

changing how things really look to give me a creative feeling and help me see art in a new way.

This strange cityscape seems to come from a dream. It symbolizes culture, freedom, and the

modern city of Paris. While looking at this painting it held a magnetic attraction for me because

of the colors and abstract objects used. It also induces your imagination and gives you the feeling

that Paris is a city that none other can compare to because of its many differences. I think that the

artist is mainly trying to communicate his own view of what Paris looks like; not what people see

every day through the man freely flying on a parachute, the cat with a human face, the upside

down train and the two faced man. The predominant colors used are mainly yellow and blue.

Blue symbolizes calmness, peace, modesty and also depression which contrast with yellow

which can mean imagination, hope, happiness and optimism. In the painting, Chagall tries to

show that there is more than meets the eye when you look at Paris; there are two sides to

everything and for every bad there is a still hope and good.

Judgment: Is this a successful work of art?

In my opinion, this work of art is successful because it communicated to me pure

creativity and introduced me to the idea of substituting original objects into what you perceive or

want it to be. I also think it is successful because of the variation of colors that are used which

creates a unique feel to the painting and gives Chagall full ownership of his own style as an

artist. According to Picasso, "Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what color

really is" and I agree with this quote because this painting has widened my view of art and taught

me to appreciate its uniqueness.