What is “good art?” What traits must a piece have to be deemed worthy of praise? 

Recently my daughter Alice treated herself to a trip to our favorite city, Paris. While there, she sent me dozens of photos, along with the image below on the right. She visited Palais Garnier, the Opera House of Paris, on her last day. While there, she saw classical dramatic murals in classic Renaissance fashion. However, what stuck out to her was the mural in the theater by Marc Chagall. 

So clearly different from the rest of the paintings, she was in awe by its rawness, the loose sketch work, and the freedom of color in contrast to the robust yet inflexible golden surroundings. 

When this painting was commissioned, there were a lot of controversies. Marc Chagall was a Russian Jew who, even though living in France for five decades, was seen as an outsider. And the fact his painting style was modern, and fluid made some feel this would take away from the grandeur of the Opera House. 

However, even with the fuss made by a few, the mural in the Opera House is recognized as a must-see marvel of Parisian appreciation of art. Which it is because even in Chagall’s own words, the mural is a testament to artistic expression, “I wanted to represent, as in a mirror, a bunch of dreams, the creations of the actors and musicians; to keep in mind the colorful clothes of the audience stirring on the lower level. To sing like a bird, free of any theory and method. To render homage to the great composers of operas and ballets.”

When talking to my daughter about her thoughts, she immediately thought of “A Winter Dance.” To quote Alice, “Even though your work may have differences, the essence of freedom with line and color invokes a feeling of liberation. Like, it’s okay to go outside the line.”