Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Abraham and the Three Angels, 1960-1966
Oil on canvas, 190 cm x 292 cm
Donation Marc and Valentina Chagall, 1966
Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice.
Photo © RMN-GP / Gérard Blot
The composition is structured by the horizontal of the bench in the foreground and punctuated by...
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Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Abraham and the Three Angels, 1960-1966
Oil on canvas, 190 cm x 292 cm
Donation Marc and Valentina Chagall, 1966
Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice.
Photo © RMN-GP / Gérard Blot
The composition is structured by the horizontal of the bench in the foreground and punctuated by the play of verticals of the figures. The bright color of the background, the red of life and love, which is also that of the background of the icons whose gold is worn, highlights the whiteness of the wings of the three angels, a distant memory of those of the icon of the Trinity, by Andrei Rublev (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow).
The figures of Abraham and Sarah, pushed to the left, seem struck with astonishment by the announcement of the birth of a son at their advanced age. In the bubble at the top right, Chagall depicts the following episode in the Bible: Abraham learns from the angels of God's will to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
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