The artwork titled “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” created by Marc Chagall in 1939 in Paris, France, exemplifies the Surrealist movement. This literary painting is composed with oil on canvas and measures 117.1 by 88.6 centimeters. This significant piece of Chagall’s oeuvre is housed within the Musée de Grenoble, located in Grenoble, France.
In “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the viewer is presented with a vivid, dream-like tableau infused with a rich, vibrant palette. At the center of the composition, a central figure embraces an anthropomorphic creature with the body of a human and the head of a horse, reminiscent of the transformations often found in Shakespeare’s plays, from which the title of the artwork is drawn. The use of animal heads on human bodies is a recurring element in Chagall’s art, invoking a mythic or fairytale quality that transcends the ordinary.
Above the intertwined pair, a red figure that resembles a flying bird adds a touch of dynamic movement, emphasizing the surreal and whimsical atmosphere. The background is dappled with color, suggesting a celestial or dreamy setting that defies conventional interpretation. Chagall’s brushwork is loose and expressive, contributing to the overall feel of otherworldliness and enchantment that characterizes much of his work and aligns with the Surrealist objective of liberating the creative mind from the constraints of reality.
