Chagall at work An exceptional loan to the museum

In 2022–2023, Bella and Meret Meyer, the granddaughters of Marc Chagall, enabled 141 of works made by their grandfather to enter the national collections through several exceptional donations to the National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Georges Pompidou. First shown in Paris in 2023-2024, the collection of works will be displayed at the Marc Chagall National Museum, where it will be presented in two volumes.It showcases the richness and diversity of Chagall's work and offers a journey through four collections.

The forty-one sketches and models for the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier, inaugurated in 1964, illustrate the creative process behind one of Chagall's most ambitious public commissions. He first imagined his composition in terms of colourful rhythms, then incorporated iconography that pays tribute to the great composers he admired and to the city of Paris, where he settled in 1923.

A second group brings together the sixty-four sketches for the stage curtains and costumes for the ballet The Firebird, based on Igor Stravinsky's score, revived by the New York Ballet Theatre in 1945, choreographed by Adolph Bolm, then in 1949 by George Balanchine. Here, Chagall experiments with monumentality in his painting and the movement of bodies on stage.

Finally, the twelve ceramics and sculptures, followed by the twenty-four collages, reveal the artist's relentless curiosity for new artistic practices in the 1950s to 1970s. His work with clay and stone began in 1949 when he moved to Vence and met Serge Ramel, Suzanne and Georges Ramié, and Lanfranco Lisarelli. Later, between 1960 and 1970, he developed the practice of collaging cut paper and fabric. The artist considered these works to be both studies for monumental projects and pure formal research.

The exhibition is organised in two volumes, with a rotation of works, from 7 February to 17 May 2026, then from 23 May to 21 September 2026.

Curators:
Anne Dopffer, Chief Curator of Heritage and Director of the Alpes-Maritimes National Museums of the 20th Century
Grégory Couderc, Curator of Heritage at the Marc Chagall National Museum

Exhibition produced with the exceptional participation of the Centre Pompidou.

^{Légendes des oeuvres :}

^{Pour le bandeau supérieur : Marc Chagall, Maquette pour la toile de fond de “L’Oiseau de feu” de Stravinsky : La forêt enchantée, 1945. Gouache, encre de Chine, pastel, crayons de couleur et collages de papier doré sur papier contrecollé sur carton, 38,1 x 63,7 cm. Collection Centre Pompidou, Paris / Musée national d’art moderne - Centre de création industrielle.  Don de Bella et Meret Meyer en 2023. Photo : Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Janeth Rodriguez-Garcia/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn © Adagp, Paris, 2026}

^{Pour l'affiche du premier volet : Marc Chagall, Etude de costume pour "L'Oiseau de feu" : monstre à tête d'âne, 1945 (détail), gouache et mine graphite sur papier, 43 x 35,5 cm. Collection Centre Pompidou, Paris / Musée national d’art moderne - Centre de création industrielle.  Don de Bella Meyer aux American Friends of Centre Pompidou, déposé au Centre Pompidou en 2022. Photo : Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/ Janeth Rodriguez-Garcia/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn © Adagp, Paris, 2026}

^{Pour l'affiche du second volet : Marc Chagall, Maquette définitive pour le plafond de l'Opéra Garnier, 1963, gouache, pastel, crayon de couleur, crayon noir et encre de Chine sur papier entoilé, 140 x 140 cm. Collection Centre Pompidou / Musée national d’art moderne - Centre de création industrielle. Don de Meret Meyer en 2022. Photo : Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Hélène Mauri/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn© Adagp, Paris, 2026}