Chagall Survey Opens in Madrid February 14, 2012, 6:00 am Nearly 90 years after Marc Chagall's first retrospective at the Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert in Paris, 150 of his works will appear in "Chagall," his first-ever retrospective in Spain. Paintings, sculpture, ceramics and book illustrations spanning the entirety of his prolific career are on view Tuesday through May 20 at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Paseo del Prado, 8; 34-91-369-01-51) and Caja Madrid Foundation (Plaza de San Martín, 1; 34-90-224-68-10). Organized chronologically, the exhibition begins with "The Path of Poetry" at the Thyssen and includes paintings and illustrations from Mr. Chagall's early years in Paris, before World War I. Steeped in Paris's art and literary circles, he illuminated memories of his Hasidic upbringing in Russia with vibrant colors, exemplified in works like "The Violinist" and "The Yellow Room." As his career took off in the late 1920s, he accepted various commissions to illustrate books, including La Fontaine's "Fables." Select illustrations appear in "Chagall" alongside more than 40 independent works inspired by the fabulist's verse. The second half of "Chagall," entitled "The Great Play of Colour" and open free of charge at the Caja Madrid Foundation, focuses on the artist's exile in the United States during World War II and his later years in France. The exhibition pays special attention to new art forms he explored later on in life, namely ceramics, sculpture and stained glass, and includes some pieces never previously exhibited. Mr. Chagall continued to paint, exploring familiar themes of religion and fantasy. Multiple works draw on circus imagery, including "The Blue Circus," a languid, glowing dreamscape in which animals surround a trapeze artist captured midair.