Visit Nice’s Musée Marc Chagall and be inspired by Biblical Art

Nice is brimming with fabulous things to do for enlightening cultural experiences and none more so than visiting the Musée Marc Chagall.

The museum is dedicated to the work of the iconic French-Russian painter, Marc Chagall. It is devoted, particularly, to the artist’s biblically-inspired works and is home to the series of 17 of Chagall’s paintings that make up the Biblical Message of illustrations of the books of Exodus, Genesis and the Song of Songs.

The permanent collection at the museum is the biggest public display of Marc Chagall’s works. The series of paintings on Old Testament themes are set alongside other biblically-inspired work by the celebrated artist, including over 400 drawings, paintings, pastels and gouaches.

Inaugurated in 1973, the museum was built during Chagall’s lifetime, and was influenced by the artist himself. Chagall installed the incredible mosaic in the museum, as well as designing the stained glass in the concert hall and stating where each piece of his art should be located in the museum.

Marc Chagall was born in Belarus in 1887. After developing an early passion for art, Chagall studied painting and in 1907 left Russia for Paris, where he lived in a colony for artists. Chagall became known for creating dreamlike imagery, with flavours of cubism, which was popular during France at that time.

Depicting emotionally-charged paintings of subjects previously unseen, Chagall played a pioneering role amongst Jewish painters, becoming one of the greatest artists of his time. So prolific an artist was Marc Chagall that Picasso said of him:

“When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what colour is.”

The Musée Marc Chagall enables visitors to witness the largest public collection of this seminal artist’s works, including his most important biblical paintings, poignantly making up the Biblical Message.