The Technique
Lovers in Green was done in the cubism style which Chagall used in some of his paintings. The painting is of a couple in the foreground, and the background is a dark green hue. The background allows the subjects to be the focus of the viewer. The woman is lying down, facing upwards with her eyes. She is motionless. The man is lying on her bosom with his eyes closed, savouring the moment.
The man's hand cushions her head and is in the foreground of the painting. Typical of Chagall artwork, the colours are vibrant. The dark green background is vividly contrasting with the woman's red clothing. The man's hand is a warm tan colour. All the colours in the artwork contrast yet blend harmoniously. Chagall uses light to create texture and depth in the painting.
The man's face is in the light while the woman's face is in the shadows because she is lying down. The background is also darker in some areas so that it creates shadows and depth so that the darker areas look like it is nighttime while, the lighter regions depict a night skyline.
Inspiration
Lovers in Green is one of the many paintings that Chagall did that centre around lovers. He used his love relationship as the subject for many of his lovers' paintings. He was a romantic, and his first wife, Bella, was his muse for a long time. His paintings of lovers were shrouded in blue or green. It depicts his time while he was courting Bella. The two lovers would meet at night.
Lovers in Green follows this pattern with its dark-hued background. At the time he painted the picture, he and Bella had been married for two years. His paintings of lovers are an ode to their love, especially when he could not see her.
He did this artwork when he was at the point when he was experimenting with a different style. He picked up cubism style in France, where he lived between 1910 and 1914 before relocating back to Russia. All his paintings done between 1910 and 1922 have a heavy cubism influence. The painting is in a private collection in an unknown location.