Posters around Miracle Mile advertised that Chagall was at LACMA through January 7th using this image: The exhibit was for Chagall's music and dance designs . Thanks to a wonderful Christmas gift of a museum membership I was able to go with a couple of friends. Before we hit the Chagall exhibit though for some strange reason I wanted to check out this painting: It's a painting entitled "The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame" by Georges de la Tour. For some reason this painting fascinated me. We stood in front of it and stared for quite some time. It was interesting how we each interpreted the masterpiece. There were so many nuances that it took quite a bit of time to really get the feeling of it. We all observed the fact that it looks like she's pregnant, and were fascinated by tracing the rope around her waste to the blocks on the floor - drowning herself, perhaps? But the weirdest thing was the way The Magdalen looks almost doll-like in the painting. ...