The Musée Marc Chagall is dedicated to the work of painter Marc Chagall - essentially his works inspired by religion - located in Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes.
The museum was created during the lifetime of the artist and inaugurated in 1973. It houses the series of seventeen paintings illustrating the biblical message, painted by Chagall and offered to the French State in 1966. This series illustrates the books of Genesis, Exodus and the Song of Songs.
Chagall himself provided detailed instructions about the creation of the garden by Henri Fish, and decided the place of each of his works in the museum. The chronological order of the works was not followed. Chagall created the mosaic which overlooks the pond and the blue stained glasses that decorate the concert hall; he also wanted an annual exhibition to be held on a topic related to the spiritual and religious history of the world.
As the collection has grown, what was a museum illustrating the theme Biblical message has become a monographic museum dedicated to Chagall's works of religious and spiritual inspiration. In 1972, the artist gave the museum all the preparatory sketches of the Message Biblique as well as stained glass and sculptures, and in 1986, the museum acquired, in lieu of inheritance taxes, the complete drawings and gouaches painted to depict the Exodus and ten other paintings, which includes the triptych named Résistance, Résurrection, Libération. Other acquisitions complemented the museum's collections, which now has one of the largest collection of works by Marc Chagall.
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.