The artwork titled “Old Vitebsk” was created by Marc Chagall in 1914 in Liozna, near Vitebsk, Belarus. This piece, executed with oil on cardboard, belongs to the Naïve Art (Primitivism) movement and is classified as a cityscape. The artwork is currently held in a private collection.
In “Old Vitebsk,” Chagall presents a vibrant interpretation of a cityscape in his distinctive Naïve Art style. The composition captures a quaint village scene, likely inspired by Vitebsk, Chagall’s birthplace. The foreground features a snowy landscape, leading to a cluster of humble buildings, with distinctive rooftops capped with snow. One noticeable element is the surreal, silhouetted figure appearing to float or fly over the village, a recurring motif in Chagall’s work, adding a dreamlike quality to the painting. The overall use of muted, earthy tones interspersed with white and green bridges the ordinary with the fantastical, imbuing the artwork with a whimsical sense of nostalgia and wonder.
