By Joon Soh
Staff Reporter

A major retrospective of the painter Marc Chagall held its opening ceremony in Seoul Wednesday.

About 500 guests attended the opening of ``Marc Chagall, Magician of Color,’’ at the Seoul Museum of Art, downtown Seoul.

``We are honored to hold a retrospective of the world’s most renowned artist to celebrate the Hankook Ilbo’s 50th anniversary,’’ said Chang Jae-ku, chairman of Hankook Ilbo, a sister newspaper of The Korea Times, in his welcoming speech during a reception. ``I hope everyone can enjoy the greatest works of Chagall and continue the affection for our newspaper that you have shown for the past 50 years.’’

Chang’s address was followed by congratulatory speeches by National Assembly Speaker Kim One-ki, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and Minister of Culture and Tourism Chung Dong-chae.

Other guests included Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hun-jai; Jeon Yun-churl, chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection; Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young; Chief Presidential Secretary Kim Woo-sik; Hyun Myung-kwan, executive vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries; and Park Yong-sung, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The show, organized by the Seoul Museum of Art with the Hankook Ilbo, will display a total of 120 oil paintings, gouaches, drawings and panel works at the museum through Oct. 15. The exhibit will then travel down to Busan Metropolitan Art Museum, where it will run from Nov. 13 through Jan. 16 next year.

Part of a touring exhibition, the Chagall retrospective began last year at the Grand Palais in Paris, and then moved to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Born in Russia in 1910, Chagall is considered one of the foremost painters of the modernist era. Known to have experimented in various artistic movements, including Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism, the artist is known for his individual and highly personal style and his unique sense of colors. He died in 1985.

Chagall’s works are particularly popular with South Koreans. The famous poet Kim Choon-soo composed a poem ``The Snow Falling in Chagall’s Town,’’ and there are many stores named after the artist.

The retrospective includes some of the painter’s most famous works. They include four large vertical panels Chagall painted for the Jewish Theater in Moscow in the 1920s and ``Au Dessus de la Ville,’’ a melancholy painting from 1914 of a couple floating over a town.

The shows in Paris and San Francisco divided the works into four periods: his early years in Russia (1910-1922), his first time in Paris (1923-1941), his escape during World War II to the United States (1941-1948) and his return to France (1948-1985).

The Seoul and Pusan shows, however, group the works by theme. Among the sections are ``Lovers,’’ ``Imagination,’’ ``Circus and Jewish Theater,’’ ``Paris,’’ ``The Bible’’ and ``The Odyssey.’’

Information about the retrospective can be obtained at www.chagallkorea.com.

sohjoo@koreatimes.co.kr