Marc Chagall: Between Poetry and Spirituality

The exhibition Marc Chagall: Between Poetry and Spirituality at the MAR – Museo Archeologico Regionale in Aosta is the major artistic event of 2026. It forms part of the museum’s programme, which, through regular exhibitions, showcases the great masters of modern art such as Miró and Picasso. 

The exhibition highlights Chagall’s artistic exploration of the Bible, a central theme that ran through his work throughout his life. At the opening of the Marc Chagall National Museum in Nice on 7 July 1973, Chagall declared: ‘Ever since my early youth, I have been captivated by the Bible. It seemed to me, and still seems to me, that it is the greatest source of poetry of all time. Since then, I have sought this reflection in life and in art. The Bible is like an echo of nature, and I have tried to convey this secret.’

The exhibition will focus on the origins of this theme, which began with Ambroise Vollard’s commission for the illustration of the Bible in 1930, on major figures from the Old Testament such as the Prophets, King David and Moses, as well as on biblical depictions in stained-glass windows, sculptures and illustrated books. The exhibition concludes with the artist’s major project: the creation of a museum dedicated to the Biblical Message in Nice.

To mark this exhibition, which is being held for the first time in Italy, the Marc Chagall National Museum is lending more than 120 works from its collections, created between 1922 and 1980. Paintings, gouaches, drawings, lithographs, books, sculptures and ceramics will feature in the various sections of the exhibition, revealing the artist’s creative process, his curiosity in experimenting with a wide range of artistic practices, and his involvement in monumental commissions.
Curators: 

Anne Dopffer, Director of the National Museums of the 20th Century in the Alpes-Maritimes
Grégory Couderc, Heritage Curator at the Marc Chagall National Museum
Alberto Fiz, art critic and exhibition curator

_{Marc Chagall, La Descente de croix dur fond bleu, 1950, encre de Chine et gouache sur papier,,56 x 45,75 cm. Acquisition 2023 du musée national Marc Chagall © ADAGP, Paris, 2025}