Chagall in Mosaic: a Chronology

This chronology, tracing the history of Chagall and his creations of mosaics, is part of the exhibition Glass and Stone. Chagall in Mosaic, presented at the Marc Chagall National Museum from May 24 to September 22, 2025.

1948
Upon his return from the United States in August 1948, Chagall settled in Orgeval. In 1949, Aimé Maeght became his art dealer in France. He won the Prize for Best Foreign Engraver at the 24th Venice Biennale, which dedicated a room to him. In Ravenna, the Gruppo Mosaicisti, a group of mosaic artists led by Giuseppe Salietti, was formed. The group included Ines Morigi Berti, Maria Fabbri, Lino Melano, Libera Musiani, Romolo Papa, Eda Pratella, Antonio Rocchi, Renato Signorini, followed by Sergio Cicognani, Isler Medici, and Zelo Molducci.

1950
Marc Chagall permanently moved to the south of France, to Vence, where he acquired the villa Les Collines.

1951
The Musée des Monuments Français hosted an exhibition of the Gruppo Mosaicisti, Mosaïques de Ravenne, presenting copies of Italian mosaics. The Italian School of Art was founded in Paris, with futurist artist Gino Severini directing it until 1957, promoting mosaic teaching by bringing in mosaic artists from Ravenna, including Antonio Rocchi, Lino Melano, and Luigi Guardigli.

1954
After a second stay in Greece, Marc Chagall, along with his friend, art critic Lionello Venturi, discovered the Byzantine mosaics of the mausoleum of Gallia Placidia and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, which left a strong impression on him. Michel Tharin, who would later collaborate with Chagall, attended Lino Melano's mosaic classes at the Italian School of Art in Paris in 1954.

1955
The Gruppo Mosaicisti considered a second group exhibition, gathering mosaics made in collaboration with contemporary artists. Encouraged by Lionello Venturi, Chagall agreed to participate. Le Coq bleu, a familiar motif for the artist, became his first model for a mosaic.

1958-1959
For the first time, a work by Chagall, Le Coq bleu, was transposed into mosaic. Two artists, Antonio Rocchi and Romolo Papa, each produced a version: one for the Art Museum of Ravenna and the other for Marc Chagall. 
Romolo Papa's version, sent to Chagall, was exhibited at the Galerie Maeght in Paris in 1958 as part of the exhibition Sur quatre murs. Chagall created an original lithograph of Le Coq bleu in double-page format for the magazine Derrière le Miroir, no. 107. 
Rocchi's version was presented at the second group exhibition of the Gruppo Mosaicisti, Mosaici moderni, inaugurated on June 7, 1959, at the Art Museum of Ravenna, and later traveled across Europe and the United States.
In 1958, at the invitation of the historian John Nef, director of the Committee on Social Thought and art collector, whom he had met in 1946, Chagall returned to Chicago to lead a seminar, organized by William Wood-Prince, director of the First National Bank and admirer of Chagall's work..

1962
On February 6, during the inauguration of the twelve stained-glass windows created for the Hadassah Hospital synagogue in Jerusalem, Chagall met Kadish Luz, president of the Knesset, who asked him to design the decor for the reception hall of the Parliament building under construction.

1964-1965
At Chagall's request, Lino Melano created a small trial mosaic, L’Oiseau musicien, based on a watercolor and ink drawing. Chagall also participated in the decor for the Maeght Foundation, inaugurated on July 28, 1964, creating his first mosaic integrated into an architectural framework. For Les Amoureux, he followed Gino Severini's advice and enlisted Lino Melano, marking the start of a fruitful collaboration with the Italian mosaic artist and his wife, Heidi Melano, née Hoegger.

1965-1966
In 1966, Marc and Vava moved to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, to the villa La Colline. His friend Ira Koselitz, a Russian-born collector, commissioned Chagall's first monumental private work, La Cour Chagall, for the inner courtyard of her mansion on Rue de l’Élysée in Paris. Chagall donated the Message Biblique cycle, a series of 17 paintings, to France, which he began in 1956.

1967
Installation of the mosaic Le Grand Soleil, by Lino Melano, on the terrace of the Chagalls' villa in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Louis Trotabas, Dean of the Faculty of Law in Nice (1962–1968), asked Marc Chagall to create a mosaic for the hall of the new building. The theme of Ulysse appealed to Chagall, who wanted to convey a message of courage to students. He collaborated with Lino Melano to create a large mosaic (11 meters by 3 meters), funded through the 1% artistique scheme.

1968
During a stay with his friends John and Evelyn Nef, Chagall proposed creating a mosaic for their garden in Washington, D.C.

1969
The mosaic Le Message d'Ulysse for the Faculty of Law in Nice was inaugurated on April 19, 1969. On June 18, 1969, Chagall attended the inauguration of the decorative ensemble he designed for the hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, illustrating the history of the Jewish people. The monumental decor consists of three tapestries, twelve mosaic floors, and a large wall mosaic.

1971
The mosaic Orphée for the Nef residence in Washington was inaugurated on November 1, in the presence of the French ambassador, Charles Lucet. This was Chagall's first mosaic in the United States, a tribute to the country that had welcomed many refugees during World War II. 
The same year, Chagall created La Fête heureuse for his friend and doctor, Professor Jean-Paul Binet, to decorate his secondary residence in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. 
The mosaic Le Prophète Elie is one of three monumental works Chagall designed for his museum, alongside the stained-glass windows for La Création du Monde and the tapestry Paysage Méditerranéen. Mosaists Lino Melano and Michel Tharin worked together on this project.

1972
Chagall agreed to create a mosaic for the city of Chicago, at the request of William Wood-Prince, director of the First National Bank, who financed the project. Chagall chose the theme of Les Quatre Saisons. The project was again entrusted to Lino Melano.

1973
On the night of March 13-14, a fire broke out in Lino Melano's workshop in Biot, severely damaging the Quatre saisons models. Chagall asked Michel Tharin to resume the work, and Tharin became his new collaborator. On July 7, the Message Biblique Museum was inaugurated in the presence of André Malraux.

1974
On September 27, Les Quatre saisons, Chagall's largest creation (270 m²), was inaugurated, the first to be located outdoors in a public space. The First National Bank hired young filmmaker Chuck Olin to make a documentary, The Gift, about the creation of the work. Chagall created a lithographic poster for the event.

1975
As part of the restoration and decoration program for the Sainte-Roseline Chapel in Les Arcs-sur-Argens, led by Marguerite Maeght, Marc Chagall designed a large mosaic in 1975, his first for a Christian building, inspired by the life of a saint. Le Repas des Anges was inaugurated on August 2, 1975. In May, an exhibition at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York displayed seventeen gouaches inspired by the Quatre saisons mosaic.

1979
On December 16, the mosaic Moïse sauvé des eaux was inaugurated at the baptismal font chapel of the Vence Cathedral. This smaller-scale work was the last mosaic created during Chagall's lifetime. 
Lino Melano passed away.

1985
Marc Chagall passed away on March 28 at the age of 98.

1986
At the request of Vava Chagall, Heidi Melano transposed Chagall's lithograph Le Fleuve Vert (created in 1974) into a mosaic for the pediment of the La Fontette school in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

2003
After Ira Koselitz's death, her husband donated the mosaic La Cour Chagall to the Pierre Gianadda Foundation in Martigny, Switzerland. The mosaic was removed, restored, and reinstalled in the foundation's sculpture park by Heidi Melano, Sandrine, and Benoît Coignard.

2009
Evelyn Stefansson Nef, wife of John Nef, donated the mosaic Orphée to the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

2014
Michel Tharin passed away.
Heidi Melano passed away.