The Jerusalem Windows

Marc Chagall. The Jerusalem Windows. New York: George Braziller, [1962]. First American edition. Folio. [211] pages. Text and notes by Jean Leymarie, translated from the French by Elaine Desautels. 104 plates, sixty-four of which are in full color; two original colored lithographs prepared expressly for this edition, printed by Mourlot Frères. "For me a stained glass window is a transparent partition between my heart and the heart of the world." -- Chagall Chagall's designs for the twelve stained glass windows of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center Synagogue in Jerusalem, each window representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. From Chagall's remarks on the morning of the dedication ceremony: "And this, which today is called sacred art, I carried out by thinking equally of the great ancient creations of the Semitic peoples of this region. And I hope that thus I am holding out a hand to friends of culture, to poets and artists of neighboring countries and of all countries."