Feast Day

Feast Day by Marc Chagall is a compelling example of the artist’s graphic oeuvre created in 1922. Executed as a drypoint print, this piece reflects Chagall’s deep involvement with etching and engraving during his mature career following his return to Paris. The work dates specifically to a highly productive transitional phase, shortly after he re-established his place within the French artistic community, blending the influences of the Parisian avant-garde with the powerful visual memories of his Eastern European Jewish heritage.

The chosen medium, drypoint, is characterized by the soft, velvety burr created when the needle incises the copper plate. Chagall leveraged this technique to produce lines rich in texture and depth, resulting in a dramatic atmosphere well suited to the print’s evocative subject matter. The composition captures the characteristic dreamlike quality and symbolic imagery common to Chagall’s style of the 1920s. Figures appear suspended or fragmented, merging elements of folklore, memory, and profound religious symbolism. Chagall frequently used his graphic works, including prints like this one, to explore themes of traditional life, spirituality, and love, filtered through a distinct modernist lens.

This significant print marks the refinement of Chagall’s visual language, bridging the aesthetic sensibilities developed during his time in Russia with the sophisticated demands of the burgeoning art scene in France. The 1922 date places the work firmly in the interwar period, when Chagall’s reputation as a master colorist and graphic artist solidified internationally. As a key document of his evolving style during this era, Feast Day is currently housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, recognizing its importance within the canon of early 20th-century printmaking. Scholars and students continue to study Chagall’s masterful handling of the drypoint medium as essential examples of modern prints that draw heavily on personal mythology and cultural memory.