I enjoyed this exhibition, although I thought it was uneven. Most of the works I liked best were by Chagall’s contemporaries rather than by Chagall himself. For instance, there was a group of black and white lithographs by Natalia Goncharova that I thought were a great set. There were 15 of them, produced in 1914 and called Images of the War.

Another set I really enjoyed was a group of six small landscape oils by Kandinsky. these were painted in 1917, and as the handy card beside them suggested, they depicted the last months of calm before revolution. I thought they were a charming set of paintings.

There was a film playing by Dziga Vertou called Man with a Movie Camera. It was a silent film in 35mm showing everyday Russian life. This film was lively and inventive, using techniques like double exposures and freeze frames and slow motion to heighten the effect.

My favourite Chagall in the show was the smallish1937 Study for the Revolution, depicting Lenin balancing like an acrobat.  The more familiar Chagall paintings, the ones with the floaty guys and the Russian villages, were there, but I can take them or leave them (especially the later ones).

Overall, the show was well worth seeing, but I wouldn’t call it spectacular, and the $25 admission was steep.

I met up with my old friend Tim there, and spending the afternoon catching up made for a great afternoon.

Related articles

• Rare Chagall paintings sold in New York (thejc.com)
• Marc Chagall works loaned to AGO from Paris (cbc.ca)
• Chagall’s synagogues up for sale (rt.com)
• Chagall and his contemporaries together at last (arts.nationalpost.com)