''La Mariée'' (French for "The Bride") is a 1950

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

on canvas, measuring 68×53 cm, by Russian-French artist Marc Chagall. It is held in a private collection in Japan. ''La Mariée'' was prominently featured in the 1999 film ''

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...

''.

The painting

Chagall paintings often feature young women or couples, but in ''La Mariée'' the focus is on a singular young woman in quasi-wedding attire with a bouquet of flowers. Described by a Chagall fan as "an ode to young love", the woman is presented to the viewer in a bold and conspicuous fashion, as if the viewer is the one marrying her.

Colours

The second peculiarity of ''La Mariée'' compared to the majority of other Chagall paintings is the choice of colors. The young woman is dressed in a red dress lively, with a virginal white veil draped over her head, while the background is mostly a mix of fresh and soft blue and gray. This effect allows the image of the woman to jump off the canvas and attract the viewer's attention. It is evident that Chagall has attempted to highlight the woman, as is tradition in every marriage.

Images in ''La Mariée''

The wedding is the major theme of the painting, and includes a feature found in other Chagall paintings and in many other European artworks of the twentieth century, animals playing musical instruments. In this case it's a goat playing a

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

. The painting also shows a man hanging over the head of the bride with his hands on her veil, a church which stands in the background almost as an afterthought, a man playing a flute, a girl with

pigtail A woman with long pigtails and braids. In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail (or twin tail or twintail) shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pi ...

s, a fish with arms holding a candle and a chair, several more buildings, and a squirrel.

''Notting Hill''

In the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

film ''

'',

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

' character Anna Scott sees a poster of ''La Mariée'' in the home of

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

's character, William Thacker. Later in the film Anna, in proclaiming her love for William, gives him what is presumably the original. According to director Roger Michell in an article in ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', the painting was chosen because screenwriter

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

was a fan of Chagall's work, and because ''La Mariée'' "depicts a yearning for something that's lost." Producers had a reproduction made for use in the film, but had to first get permission from the painting's owners and obtain clearance from the British

Design and Artists Copyright Society The Design and Artists Copyright Society is a British private limited company. It is a rights management organisation which collects and distributes royalties to visual artists. It was established in 1983 as the Design and Artists Copyright S ...

. Finally, according to producer

Duncan Kenworthy Duncan Hamish Kenworthy OBE (born 1949) is a British film and television producer, and co-founder of the production company DNA Films. He is currently a producer at Toledo Productions. Early life Kenworthy was educated at Rydal Mount School, ...

, "... we had to agree to destroy it. They were concerned that if our fake was too good, it might float around the market and create problems." The article notes that the real painting could have been "worth between $500,000 and $1 million." A closely related work by Chagall, also called ''La Mariée'', was sold in 2003 by Christies for just above US$1 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariee 1950 paintings Paintings by Marc Chagall Goats in art Musical instruments in art Churches in art Fish in art Squirrels in art Works about wedding

The painting

Colours

Images in ''La Mariée''

''Notting Hill''

See also

References