The artwork “Still Life with Lamp” was created by the artist Marc Chagall in 1910. This piece typifies the Expressionist movement and is composed in oil on canvas, measuring 81 by 45 centimeters. The genre of the painting is still life, and it currently resides in the Galerie Rosengart in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The artwork presents a vibrant and dynamic arrangement of objects captured in rich colors and bold brushwork, which is characteristic of Chagall’s style during his early years. At the center of the composition stands a lamp, which is commonly found in still life paintings, but Chagall’s rendition is far from ordinary. The portrayal of the lamp is skewed, with intense colors and a whimsical feel, diverting from realistic representation and embracing the emotional and dreamlike aspects of Expressionism.
Surrounding the lamp, the canvas is filled with decorative elements and household objects, depicted in an abstract manner, allowing shapes and colors to blend and diverge. The background and the objects’ surfaces are wrought with swirling patterns and textures, making the everyday subject matter of the still life seem otherworldly. Through these techniques, Chagall communicates more than the physical presence of the items—he conveys their emotional and symbolic essence as perceived through his expressive lens.
