The artwork is an illustration for Louis Aragon’s work “One who says things without saying anything,” created by the artist Marc Chagall in 1976 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. It is rendered in lithography on paper and belongs to the Naïve Art (Primitivism) movement. The artwork is part of the series “Celui qui dit les choses sans rien dire” and falls under the genre of illustration.
In the artwork, Chagall employs his signature style characterized by whimsical and dreamlike elements. The scene features an array of abstract and fantastical figures, including a nude figure with exaggerated expression and multiple people grouped together. Central to the composition is an oil lamp, emitting a soft, glowing light. Surrounding the lamp are several indistinct shapes that evoke a sense of both movement and stillness, perhaps a figurative representation of Aragon’s elusive prose. The use of earthy tones and the unrefined, childlike drawing technique contribute to the overall sense of innocence and simplicity that is typical of Naïve Art.
