Final Part 1

This is an oil and charcoal canvas painting from 1911 by Marc Chagall. Its original title was “La Pluie” (now simply titled “Rain”) and it is currently on display at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

The subject of this artwork is a terrible wind storm. The windows and doors have blown open. A farmer is struggling to walk. Someone else looks like they are being “lifted up” by the wind. Another person is huddled up against the side of a building. However in the middle of the chaotic scene stands a beautiful cherry tree. The tree is the only brightly colored part of the painting. The rest of the painting contains muted and depressing colors such as browns, blacks and greys. The tree is pink and red and cheerful. I believe that the artist is trying to show that there is beauty in everything. Even in the middle of something so dark and trying, there is strength and light.

There are many elements in this piece of artwork, however the ones that stood out to me were: line, shape and texture. The lines are important to this piece because they display movement. The curved line of the tree trunk shows significant force, which is also visible with the person who appears to be battling against the same force. The lines in the sky also show movement and distress. The clouds look like they are pointing straight down towards the house, as if it could be swallowed up by the sky. The shape of the house and barn is also significant. The bent roof of the barn shows age and weathering. This leads us to believe that the structure is weak and vulnerable to the powerful winds. The shape of the roof tells us that it's on the verge of collapse. The right side of the roof appears to be “caving in” against the strong winds. The artist showed this by making the damaged part of the roof the same color as the sky. We can also see that the inside of the house is purple and/or blue. On that same side of the roof we can see both blue and purple tinges. The texture of this painting is very rough. The brush strokes are very obvious and visible. In some areas there was no attempt at blending. In the online version it looks like some areas may be raised off the canvas. On the front part of the house with the purple window it appears to be “3D”.

The use of these elements was to demonstrate the harshness and relentlessness of a storm like that. To communicate motion, the artist used bold, distinctive lines. The artist used dark colors to symbolize the despair of the situation, and bright colors to symbolize the optimism.

The principles of design most present in this piece of artwork are: contrast, variety and dominance. The contrast between the dark, depressed feeling of the piece and the very cheerful tree is striking. It tells us that the artist wanted his audience to focus on that. The sudden burst of color could also demonstrate the artist's emotions around the tree. A tree like that could have meant something deeper to them - like hope, joy or jubilation. There is not much variety in the general scope of this piece. However there is variety in the painting style. The majority of the painting was created with very harsh, distinct lines. They are firm and decisive. The tree was painted using much more fluid and soft lines. It's a break from the chaos of the painting itself. And lastly the dominant feature of this piece is the tree. It sticks out and gives light to the rest of the painting. Other features may be overlooked in lieu of the marked focus of the tree.