The Lovers of Notre Dame

Marc Chagall 1887 - 1985

Summary

This scene seems to have many disparate parts that make the composition somewhat surreal. In the bottom half of the print there is a view of Paris with Notre Dame at the centre coloured in purple and the Eiffel Tower visible in the distance to the left. In the bottom right hand corner there is a view of a river, again in purple, leading the eye towards the large setting sun just above it. The sky above the view of Paris is coloured a vibrant yellow with a red streak on the left hand side leading to the centre. Alongside the view of Paris, in the top of the composition there is another view, this time of a street that runs across the top of the composition with buildings either side of it. In this alternate street scene whilst most of the buildings are only outlined a domed building is emphasised through being coloured green and, just behind this, a second sun is visible. In addition to these two alternate views in the top right of the composition there are two floating figures, a man and a woman. Whilst the woman is seen in profile facing the left, the man is seen straight on with one arm curving round the front to touch the woman’s neck. Both figures are shown in a stylised manner and half of the man’s face is coloured green. In the top right-hand corner, in contrast to the two suns elsewhere in the composition, the crescent of the moon is visible. private: verso - French text