On January 2, 19671, Louis Trotabas, the first dean of the law and economics school at the Université de Nice2, and Dr. Maurice Charles-Alfred went to Vence to ask Chagall to design a project for the institution, then under construction on Magnan Hill.
In 1933, the City of Nice launched a major university building campaign with the opening of the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen3, a large-scale project materializing the goal of public officials to put humanist thought at the heart of the project, which is essential for the intellectual and artistic training of students. Chagall, sensitive to this humanist approach, was all the more so since it took place in Nice, where a museum was to be built4 to house the Biblical Message paintings, completed in 1966, to which he dedicated a 1967 series of prints Nice and the Côte d'Azur5. The artist, who had already designed several mosaics6 and had been collaborating with Lino and Heidi Melano since 1964, wanted to pursue his monumental work, which allowed him to use a technique that complemented sculpture and ceramics while creating large-scale compositions in public and private spaces. Architects Roger Séassal and Henri Février designed the space for the mosaic: a spacious lobby for two first-floor lecture halls, with large windows facing the sea, which can be seen in the distance. The lobby, a place where students meet and socialize, symbolically recalls the function of the ancient city’s forum.
Likewise, the mosaic’s theme draws from ancient Mediterranean cultures and their myths. Still strongly influenced by his recent work on the 17 Biblical Message paintings, Chagall was happy to focus on a universal theme. The subject of Ulysses seems to have been suggested by Trotabas, who mentioned Gabriel Audisio’s essay Ulysse ou l’intelligence7 (1946) as the starting point for Chagall’s preparatory models. Ulysses personifies both Mediterranean genius and the universal man who overcomes grueling trials with wisdom and intelligence. A mosaic of human destiny, The Message of Ulysses also allowed Chagall to reconnect with Greek themes, expressed from 1952 to 1958 after trips to Athens, Delphi and Poros8 in his illustrations for Daphnis and Chloe by Longus, commissioned by the publisher Tériade9, the sets and costumes for the ballet of the same name10, and ceramics11.
A monumental puzzle, the mosaic features rich iconography focusing on Ulysses, who fills the composition’s entire height. It is divided into an upper and a lower section. Nine scenes from the Odyssey appear on either side of his slender, supple figure, five on the left and four on the right: the assembly of the gods on Olympus, Calypso, Polyphemus, Nausicaa and the Arc; Circe, the Sirens, the nuptial bed and Ulysses' death.
On May 28, 1967, Chagall told Trotabas that the preparatory model had been completed and that he could come and see it: “It’s done. You made me work hard. Mrs. Chagall will tell you I lost sleep sometimes. Now it’s finished and signed.12” The preparatory model for The Message of Ulysses was shipped from the artist’s studio in Saint-Paul-de-Vence to that of the Melanos’ in Paris on August 11, 196713. Eager to continue their collaboration, Chagall imposed the choice of craftsman Lino Melano14. After Minister of Culture Bernard Anthonioz signed the decree on September 26, 196715 authorizing the mosaic, crates began arriving from Italy16 with the materials required to make it in early 1968. The work began on March 5, 196817. The complex project, with its exceptional size, rich design and the tones desired by the artist, required a photograph of the model to be enlarged to actual size. The scenes were traced before being transferred to the concrete panel, which was cut into squares. They were transferred from the stencil as the craftsmen moved along, working on a rolling scaffold18 while keeping the preparatory model within hand’s reach to check the color values. The tesserae, made of Carrara marble, various types of limestone, colored glass pastes, Murano gold, copper, onyx and enamels, were cut and matched to the composition at the worksite in Nice and laid on the wet cement19. Chagall kept a close eye on the project, visiting the worksite several times a week to talk with the mosaicists, correct a color, repaint cement joints20 and specify the lighting before the unveiling21. The five-month project, which partly took place during the May 1968 protests, was completed on August 6, 1968. Chagall dedicated the mosaic to the students and donated it to the school on October 30, 196722, waiving all remuneration but asking that Lino Melano be paid according to the estimate he provided, an agreement honored thanks to the 1% art scheme23. Michel Tharin24 restored the mosaic before its listing as a historic monument on January 21, 198625.
Mosaic
The Message of Ulysses, School of Law and Economics, Nice
(Le Message d'Ulysse, Faculté de droit et de sciences économiques, Nice)
Related works
Marc CHAGALL, Sketch for The Message of Ulysses mosaic, School of Law and Economics, Nice (Esquisse pour la mosaïque Le Message d'Ulysse, Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques, Nice), 1968, india ink, tempera, lead pencil, gouache and pastel on paper, 13 1/8 x 29 5/16 x 1 5/16 in. (33.4 x 74.4 x 3.4 cm), Private collection © Fabrice GOUSSET/ADAGP, Paris, 2025
Marc CHAGALL, Model for The Message of Ulysses mosaic, School of Law and Economics, Nice (Maquette pour la mosaïque Le Message d'Ulysse, Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques, Nice), 1967, tempera, gouache, black pencil, India ink, collage of paper and printed and repainted fabric on vellum paper, 34 13/16 x 101 x 2 3/8 in. (88.5 x 256.5 x 6 cm), Private collection © ADAGP, Paris, 2025
Marc CHAGALL, Sketch for The Message of Ulysses mosaic, School of Law and Economics, Nice (Esquisse pour la mosaïque Le Message d'Ulysse, Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques, Nice), 1967, lead pencil, India ink, pastel and gouache on vellum paper mounted on canvas, 11 7/8 x 43 11/16 in. (30.2 x 111 cm), Private collection © Fabrice GOUSSET/ADAGP, Paris, 2025
