The lithography made up of 43 works of Marc Chagall, except for Nice where it is otherwise held, will be shown in Szeged first time in Europe.

We learned the following about the background of the works from Nagy Imre, the art historian of the Museum of Fine Arts, also the organizer of the present exhibition: Chagall spent two years in Greece in 1952-1954 fulfilling the invitation of his publisher Tériade. He did the Odyssey illustration shown from 16 Sept in Szeged in the castle of the museum in 1974-75- under the influence of Antique artworks and myths. The lithographies were printed on Japanese paper in the shop of Fernand Moulot with the help of the lithographer Charles Sorlier. For each and every illustration twenty different layers of color were used.

According to the art historian, Marc Chagall’s Odyssey series is a real treat. The way Chagall saw life is uniquely linked with the real and mythological elements of the adventures of Odysseus. This creates such a visual and aesthetic experience that is rare in modern European art. As the audience in Szeged will see it, Chagall faithfully followed the original text and the pictures. However, there are pages that are unique innovations from the point of view of iconography.