Bring art and literature together!

For children aged 8 to 12

During the "Chagall, du noir et blanc à la couleur" exhibition (November 2018 - March 2019), children were invited on a dreamlike journey in the company of Marc Chagall. The "Personnages de l'Opéra", a canvas painted in 1968 following the painting of the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier in Paris (1964), depicts Romeo and Juliet in front of the opera house. Inspired by the works on the Opéra Garnier ceiling, children create a paper spiral with their own illustrations from a Fable by La Fontaine. Immerse yourself in Marc Chagall's wonderful world, peopled by fabulous beings floating in shimmering skies!

Materials required

- A4 sheet of paper (180 g preferably) 
- compass and ruler
- scissors, pencil and eraser
- colored pencils (preferably watercolors)
- thread
- a La Fontaine fable of your choice (3 examples to download): Le coq et le renard / Le cheval et l’âne / Le héron)

Steps

1. Fabrique la spirale

This is a technical step, but quite simple if you follow the pattern! 
Trace the 2 diagonals of the sheet to obtain the center, which we call : A.
Using your compass, draw a circle with a radius of 2 cm, whose center is point A.
Draw a long horizontal line through the center. 
Using the compass, draw a semicircle with a radius of 4 cm, whose center is the intersection between the large line and the small circle we'll call : B.
Using the compass, draw a semicircle with a radius of 8 cm, whose center is the other intersection between the large line and the small circle, which we'll call C.
Finally, use the compass to draw a large circle with a radius of 10 cm, whose center is point A.
Your spiral is ready!

2. Cut the spiral

Using your scissors, cut out the large 10 cm circle. Then, at the intersection between the large circle and the 8 cm circle, cut towards the center. But be careful, you must stop at point B. Erase the lines and letters with a pencil.

3. Choose a La Fontaine Fable

Choose a fable by La Fontaine. For this example, we've chosen La cigale et la fourmi. Pick out the most important lines. Draw the animals. Like a comic strip, insert bubbles with the selected verses.

4. Color the spiral

Move on to the colors. We use watercolour pencils, but you can also use coloured pencils.

5. Use the brush if you've chosen watercolour pencils.

Then apply water with a brush. You can superimpose several layers of pigments and water to intensify the watercolor effect.

6. Hang your spiral

Turn the spiral inside out. Drill a small hole into which you insert a wire with a knot to secure it. Spin your spiral!