“The Painter and His Double,” created by Marc Chagall in 1981 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, is a lithograph on paper that measures 38 x 56 cm. This artwork is part of the Surrealism movement and falls within the genre painting category.
The artwork depicts a person, presumably a painter, seated at an easel under a sky suffused with a light blue hue. The setting is imbued with fantastical and surreal elements, characteristic of Chagall’s style. To the left, various figures and creatures are featured, including a winged being, a musician, a dancer, and a horse, which adds to the dreamlike quality of the scene. The central figure diligently works on a canvas, which appears to reflect a mirror image or interpretation of the surrounding imaginative world. In the background on the right stands a tall structure resembling the Eiffel Tower, establishing a vague sense of place. The landscape, spectral figures, and ethereal quality of light and color combine to create a whimsical and introspective tableau.
