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MARC CHAGALL

THE JEWISH PICASSO?

Essay by Melanie HortonJanuary 2008

Historical & Contextual ReferencingHNC Graphic Design – Walsall College

Tutor: Angela Woodley



Melanie Horton - Contents - January 2008

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CONTENTS

Introduction - page 1

Background - page 2

Influences - page 4

The Effects of War - page 7

Conclusion - page 12

Bibliography - page 13



Melanie Horton - 1 - January 2008

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[Marc Chagall: ‘The Fiddler’ 1912/13

MARC CHAGALL, THE JEWISH PICASSO?

[ 1 ] “Marc Chagall confirms his place as the most successful Jewish artist of the modernera and probably of all time. No artist applies modern methods of painterly

communication to Jewish subject matter as adeptly, or combines modernism andJudaism as flawlessly. If Picasso seems to us today to be the quintessential modernartist, Chagall must be considered the preeminent Jewish modern artist.”

INTRODUCTION

I have always been interested in the work by Marc Chagall. His unique style seems topoetically tell a story rather than just represent a subject or object. His work and thestories they tell are often of an idealistic world and create a sense of escapism for the

audience. It fascinates me how he managed to create work with such optimism, at a timewhen the world around him was filled with the horrors of war.

Whilst researching the work of Chagall, I came across this extract from an online article

by Brett Rhyne in the journal The Jewish Advocate. It intrigued me how the authoridentifies Chagall as being such a significant Jewish artist and the influence he may

have had due to the representations of his religion in his work. It is also interesting howhe has compared and likened Chagall to Picasso.

With these points raised, I shall investigate to what extent Chagall’s Jewish heritage and

beliefs were portrayed in his work and the impact his art had on the world. I will alsocompare and contrast Chagall with Picasso to establish if Chagall truly was just asimportant to the development of modern art as Picasso.

1

Extract from: RHYNE, B. (April 2001) The Jewish Advocate [Online Journal] Available from:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5090/is_200104/ai_n18505683[Accessed 10th December 2007]




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[Marc Chagall - ‘Birth’ 1910]

BACKGROUND

Marc Chagall was born Moishe Shagal, on the 7th July 1887 in Vitebsk, Eastern Russia.He later internationalised his name for convenience in Western society.

Marc was the eldest of nine children in a close-knit Jewish family. According to Chagall’sown account in his autobiography ‘My Life’, although a very poor and simple life, it was ahappy and peaceful childhood.

Vitebsk had all the characteristics of a traditional small Jewish town in Eastern Europe atthe time – known in Yiddish as a ‘Shtetl.’ This included wooden houses, poverty and a

rural community who followed Orthodox Judaism.

Jews were not allowed to attend the state schools as they were considered second-classcitizens. However, Marc’s mother bribed the school teacher, which offered Marc the

opportunity to escape from his rural life of poverty. He began to draw, took violin andsinging lessons and spoke Russian rather than Yiddish. Above all, he came in contact

with a world where cosmopolitan and cultural interests were valued, a lifestyle he wouldnever have previously experienced.

In 1907 Chagall moved to St Petersburg to continue his study of art. This was a difficultperiod for him as Jewish residents required a permit to be able to live in the Capital, and

he was jailed for a brief time. He managed to obtain a permit and won a Scholarship tothe Svanseva School of Art where he studied under Leon Bakst. Bakst was the major

link with the new art forms of the West and it was through him that Chagall was

introduced to a new style of visual expression in Symbolist painting.

It was at this time he began to paint scenes of his life in Vitebsk. Chagall reflected on thecontrast between his new life in the city and his previous years in the ‘shtetl’. The

struggles he faced in the city made him reminisce of the peaceful simplicity of Vitebskand he illustrated this in his art.

A key work of his earlyyears is ‘Birth’ painted in1910. This apparently isinfluenced by the birth of

Chagall’s youngestbrother. It depicts a scene,

which is part of everydaylife back in the ‘shtetl’. TheJewish men aresegregated from thewomen and they areshown as onlookers,waiting with anticipation for

the new arrival as theycrowd in the doorway andthe window. It can also be

interpreted as a symbol ofthe Christian nativity withthe mother, child, wise men




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[Marc Chagall: ‘Russian Wedding’ 1910]

and even Joseph hiding under the bed. This painting is significant of how Chagall did not

want his art to have boundaries and by combining both Christian and Jewish symbolismhe was challenging traditional ideologies for more universal interpretation.

It is in this way that Chagall is not as devout to his faith as Brett Rhyne indicates. InOrthodox Judaism there was an ancient ban on image making and if Chagall were strictto his religion, he would have refrained from creating paintings that depicted elements ofJudaism. Within his work he would combine stories and symbols from the Old Testament

and New Testament of the Bible. As Judaism is concerned with the Old Testament, it isoutside the boundaries of the religion to depict scenes from the New Testament, whichare from Christianity. Although some people argue that by combining religions Chagall

was just rebelling against the tradition and domination of Christian iconography in art.

Throughout his life, Chagall looked back on his time in Vitebsk with fondness andreferences to his homeland and childhood are evident throughout his work. It is possibly

Chagall’s continuous use of these images, why Brett Rhyne has identified him as being“the pre-eminent Jewish Modern Artist”. Some may interpret the scenes of the ‘Shtetl’ as

Chagall championing the traditional Jewish lifestyle.

However, it is perhaps the hardships of war, racism and revolution that Chagallexperienced later on which are the reasons he referred back to the images of his earlyyears, a period when he felt most at peace. Using imagery and symbols from his

childhood in Vitebsk was possibly a form of escapism from the chaos around him. Ibelieve it illustrates hope that some day the world would be peaceful again, as it had

been in his formative years.




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INFLUENCES

In his early years in Russia, the Post-Impressionists such as Gauguin, were Chagall’smain influence and the development of his use of colour can be attributed to this. LeonBakst also introduced him to work by Henri Matisse. In Chagall’s ‘Red Nude Sitting Up’,the unconventional shades of red on the figure contrast with the black lines and greenbackground. This can be compared with Matisse’s style at the time when he waspioneering the new movement of Fauvism. Chagall was inspired by their use of colour as

a new means of expressing emotion and adopted to the style to express his poems anddreams in a visual form.

In 1910 Chagall moved to Paris and into his first studio on Montmartre. This was thebirthplace of modern art, with new art movements emerging during this period. Chagallimmersed himself in this new artistic world and was influenced by the new people he

met.

Cubism

It was Robert Delaunay who introduced Chagall to Cubism, rather than Pablo Picassoand Georges Braques, the founders of the movement. Delaunay’s wife Sonia was aRussian painter herself and the couple became close friends with Chagall, introducing

him to the artistic community in Paris.

Picasso and Braque concerned themselves with the dissection and abstraction ofobjects. They looked at the functionality of an object and represented it in geometric

shapes from different viewpoints. This did not interest Delaunay and Chagall, who werenot concerned with the mechanics of objects. For them, Cubism provided a means ofordering their dreams, experiences, desires and visions. The Cubist style presented

[Chagall: ‘Red Nude Sitting Up’, 1908] [Matisse: ‘Woman in a Hat’, 1906]




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Chagall with a means of expressing his ideas into simplistic forms to give structure and

logic to his work, which could be interpreted by others.

‘I and the Village’ dated 1911 is perhaps Chagall’s most significant painting of hisinfluence from Cubism. His use of sliced and sectioned images shows influence fromDelaunay’s style (see Delaunay’s painting ‘Eiffel Tower’). Chagall has used geometric

shapes to break down the painting almost into a storyboard to give structure to the storyhe is conveying. The transparency of the images is also a characteristic of Cubism,which he has utilised to break down the scenes. I enjoy how Chagall has taken the keyelements of Cubism but interpreted it into his own style. There is still the use of vivid

colours, which has its derivations from Fauvism and he continues to depict images from

his traditional Jewish Village life – these being represented by the animals, the buildingsin the background, milking and farming. This is different to Picasso’s style such as in ‘Le

Demoiselles d’Avignon’ where he looks to explore and interpret the physical attributes ofhis subjects, Chagall has only used Cubism as a means of composition.

Unlike Picasso and his counterparts who painted from life, Chagall recalled images from

memory and created work from his imagination without emphasis on a subject’s realappearance.

[Chagall: ‘I and the Village’, 1911] [Delaunay: ‘Eiffel Tower’, 1911]




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[Chagall: Adam and Eve, 1912]

One of my favourite Chagall paintings from his Cubist period is ‘Adam and Eve’. For me,

this represents the true Cubist style with the two figures broken down into geometricshapes and viewed from different angles. You can still depict that this is Adam and Evewith the shape of the tree and the apple at he centre of the painting. Again this showsChagall’s interest in biblical themes. I feel this painting is perhaps the most easily likenedwith Picasso’s work.

With reference to Brett Rhyne’s comparison of Chagall with Picasso, he is accurate in

that the artists are alike in their adoption of the Cubist style. However, where as Picassopioneered and continued to develop the style throughout his career, Chagall never fully

joined the movement, instead borrowing elements to develop into his own unique style.We could therefore agree to Rhyne’s quotation that Chagall was the Jewish equivalentof Picasso because he worked in the Cubist style, but depicted scenes from the HebrewBible and his Jewish village. However, if the argument is based on Chagall’s use ofCubism alone, then Rhyne’s comment is not supported because as previously

discussed, Chagall did not fully identify with Picasso’s style of Cubism and wasinfluenced more by Delaunay. Also, Chagall’s use of Cubism was short lived and so he

is not identified as a significant Cubist artist. I must therefore explore other comparisonsbetween the two artists to understand where Rhyne has drawn his conclusion.

[Picasso: ‘Les Demoiselles d'Avignon’, 1907]




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THE EFFECTS OF WAR

In June 1914 Chagall returned to Russia ona three months visitor visa. However, theFirst World War broke out whilst he wasthere which closed Russia’s borders andChagall’s stay turned into 8 years. As warcommenced, Chagall was fearful of

conscription into the Czar’s army, asJewish people were often the first to beconscripted. Unlike many of his fellowartists who were enthusiastic at the onsetof the war, Chagall was concerned for

himself and the Jewish people. This fear isrepresented in his Self-Portrait, painted just

after his return to Russia. There is a darkexpression on his face and the way he

appears to be hiding behind the plantsuggests he is afraid and apprehensive ofevents to come. Military service provedunavoidable but to avoid being sent to thefront, Chagall took work in his brother-in-

law’s office in St Petersburg where hecarried out administrative war duties.

The Bolshevik revolution was to bringnew optimism for Chagall andaccording to him was the most

important event in his life. TheBolsheviks had taken Russia out of the

war and the Jews at long last had equalcitizen’s rights with other Russians. Atthis time Chagall painted ‘CemeteryGates’ which at first appears torepresent sorrow and death. However,

inscribed across the gate is the Hebrewprophecy of Ezekiel, which speaks of

rejoicing and optimism for the future.From this we can assume that Chagallis in fact celebrating the death of theold Czarist regime, symbolised by thecemetery and he is optimistic for thefuture and a new beginning for Russiaand its people.

Chagall has captured the feeling of theJewish people in his work and this

became key to his art, particularlyduring periods of war. I believe it is for

this reason that Brett Rhyne identifies

[Chagall: Self Portrait, 1914]

[Chagall: Cemetery Gates, 1914]




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him as being significant for using modern art to communicate Jewish issues. The effects

of war and revolution greatly impacted on Chagall and he voiced his concern for theJewish people through his work. In this way he raised awareness of Jewish issues to therest of the world and is perhaps why he became such a renowned Jewish artist.

In 1931 Chagall visited Palestine, the Promised Land of the Jewish people, but hispaintings following the visit were not optimistic. Chagall was aware of events takingplace in the world around him. The Nazis had come to power in Germany and Chagall

recorded this feeling of unease in his paintings. Painted in 1933, ‘Solitude’ symbolizesthe concern he has for the Jewish People. The cloaked man is interpreted from Judaismas Ahasverus, the eternal Wandering Jew, roaming the world uncertain of his future. It isobvious that this was Chagall’s feeling for his people. The Jewish man is shown withhead in hands as if contemplating his future, whilst the Russian style buildings in the

background symbolize his homeland. There are black storm clouds looming over thehorizon, which again indicates the dangers that are menacing his people. The colours

are subdued and again emphasise the despair that Chagall is trying to portray.

In comparison, during the same period Picasso also painted in response to acts of war

and the political climate. In 1937, whilst aiding the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War,German bombers destroyed the small town of Guernica. Picasso painted ‘Guernica’ as

an emotional response to this historical event. It illustrates the suffering and horror of thepeople; buildings and women are engulfed in flames, a screaming woman carries herdead child, a fallen soldier lies in pain, and even the animals appear to be screaming inanguish. The monochrome tones also convey a dark, bleakness to the scene, whichemphasises the sadness.

‘Guernica’ is recognised as the most important piece of art to demonstrate a reaction to

the horrors of war. It was a painting that illustrated the dark side of human nature anddescribed atrocities, which were taking place not just in Spain at the time, but around the

world. For this reason it captured the emotions of people all over the world.

Picasso is quoted to say, “Painting was not invented to decorate houses. It is aninstrument of war for attack and defence against the enemy.”

[Chagall: ‘Solitude’, 1933]




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[Picasso: ‘Guernica’, 1937]

In this way Picasso and Chagall are alike as they see their art as a tool to express their

feelings towards the atrocities of war and perhaps raise public awareness to the issues.Unlike Chagall however, Picasso does not represent religion or any particular culture inhis work, which gives it universal appeal. Chagall is focused purely on the plight of the

Jewish people and this is my understanding why Brett Rhyne calls Chagall “The JewishPicasso”. He and Picasso revolutionised how art captured the effects of war, but Chagallrepresented the Jewish perspective.

In October 1937 Picasso painted‘Weeping Woman’ which was a

continuation of a series of work on‘Guernica’. In contrast to ‘Guernica’,its bright colours at first provide a

cheerful tone but on closer look, thecrumpled handkerchief at the centre ofthe pieces illustrates the suffering ofthe woman. Picasso’s cubist style of

fragmenting the handkerchief adds to

the dishevelled appearance of thewoman, to show that life is in disarray.On the outside of the picture, there isorder and colour which shows how lifegoes on but at the core there isdespair and destruction, represented

in the monochrome tones of thehandkerchief. Again Picasso is using

his art to represent the suffering of thepeople.

[Picasso: ‘Weeping Woman’, 1937]




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In 1938, Chagall painted ‘White Crucifixion’ which was renowned as his most important

and influential piece of art and perhaps the most famous. Many compare it as thecounterpart to Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ as it too illustrates the suffering of war. In the sameyear, ‘Kristallnacht’ had been carried out by the Nazis – a night of vicious attacks on the

German Jewish people, which marked the onslaught of the Holocaust. Although this wasa significant event, Chagall was conscious of events, which were taking place acrossEurope and the suffering that Jewish people were experiencing. In contrast to Picasso,Chagall has not responded to or illustrated any one event, but rather expresses his

concern and fear for himself and the Jewish people.

‘White Crucifixion’ causes many debates as to the symbol of the Christ by a Jewish

artist. However, I believe that Chagall utilises Christ to symbolise the suffering of theJewish people. Christ was the Jewish prophet and Chagall appears to be likening hissuffering on the cross to the persecution of the Jewish people. Revolutionaries appear to

be rioting in the background, a man in Nazi uniform is desecrating a synagogue, Jewishrefugees appear to be fleeing in a boat and villages are in flames. Overall, this painting

is an emotional response from Chagall to the horrors that he sees taking place. Theidyllic village scenes, which he has always portrayed, have now been destroyed and heconveys his sadness through the depiction of the Christ looking down on the people.

The symbol of crucifixion is universally recognizable and so like Picasso, Chagall hasadopted images that people all over the world could relate to and thus raise awarenessto the events which were taking place.

[Chagall: ‘White Crucifixion’, 1938]




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Chagall is quoted in saying “Will God or someone give me the power to breathe my sigh

into my canvass, the sigh of prayer and sadness, the prayer of salvation, of rebirth?”This clearly demonstrates his despair and grief for the events ongoing around him andhow like Picasso, he wanted to use his art to express his feelings with hope that byraising awareness, they might affect change.

[Chagall: ‘The Revolution’, 1937]




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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, after researching and comparing these two artists, I have a betterunderstanding of Brett Rhyne’s reasoning for terming Chagall “The Jewish Picasso”.

Both artists were revolutionary in the way they broke from traditional styles of art. Thereare however, perhaps more contrasts between the two artists than similarities. With hisdevelopment of Cubism, Picasso pioneered a movement in modern art. Chagall on the

other hand, although he adopted elements from particular movements such as Fauvism,Cubism and Surrealism, he was always on the fringe of these movements, preferring towork in his own unique style.

Surrealism did not interest Picasso, as he was interested in concrete everyday reality

and through the cubist style he represented the mechanics and structure of everyday lifeand objects. Instead, Chagall used elements of surrealism to demonstrate his emotions

to events and his surroundings and illustrated his dreams of an idyllic world. In this waythe artists differ greatly in their styles.

I believe where Rhyne has drawn his comparison, is in the way both artists wereinfluenced by the effects of war and how they used their art to protest against politicalevents. Picasso is seen as the most important figure in the development of modern artbecause of his originality and popularity. Not only this, but ‘Guernica’ is recognised

around the world as one of the most important pieces of modern art because it is areminder of the war of the 20th Century. Chagall’s ‘White Crucifixion’ is compared to

‘Guernica’ for its impact and importance, but instead is specifically focused on the plight

of the Jewish people. For this reason and perhaps this painting, Rhyne has likenedChagall to Picasso for his importance but from the Jewish point of view.

Throughout his life and his work Chagall tried to raise awareness of the issues of the

Jewish people. In 1949 he helped set up the MRAP anti-racist NGO to combat racismand deal with the effects of the holocaust after the war. Chagall’s commitment to the

Jewish people and love of his homeland not only in his art, but also in his actions, isperhaps why Rhyne calls Chagall “the pre-eminent Jewish modern artist”.

In his biography of Chagall, Franz Meyer quotes [2] “Picasso stood for triumph of theintellect, Chagall for the glory of the heart”. Which I feel sums up the comparison

between the two – Picasso’s work was revolutionary in its originality, where as Chagall’swork was significant for his ability to express his emotions.

2 Extract from Marc Chagall by WALTHER, I. and METZGER, R. (1987) 2006 ed. Koln: Taschen




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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Online Journals

RHYNE, B. (April 2001) The Jewish Advocate [Online Journal] Available from:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5090/is_200104/ai_n18505683[10th December 2007]

PLANK, K. (November 4, 1987) ‘Broken Continuities: "Night" and "White Crucifixion” ‘,Christian Century [Online Journal] Available from:http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1069 [14th December 2007]

RABBI ESSERMAN, R. (June 29, 2007/Tamuz 13 5767, Volume 59, No. 41) ‘Chagall:Painting in Yiddish’, Jewish News of Greater Phoenix Online [Online], Available:http://www.jewishaz.com/issues/story.mv?070629+chagall [14th December 2007]

Websites

‘Marc Chagall’, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia [Online], Available:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

‘Pablo Picasso’, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia [Online], Available:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso

‘Chagall’s White Crucifixion’, Humanities Web [Online], Available:http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=g&p=a&a=i&ID=378

‘Guernica (Painting)’, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_%28painting%29

Books

WALTHER, I. and METZGER, R. (1987) Marc Chagall 2006 ed. Koln: Taschen

MAKARIUS, M. (1986) Chagall/The Masterworks 1988 ed. London: Studio Editions Ltd

WALTHER, I. (2007) Pablo Picasso. Koln: Taschen

Image Sources

Movements in Russian Art, Russian Avant-Garde Gallery [Online], Available:http://www.russianavantgard.com/master_04_artists_union_of_youth/mark_chagall-Master%2004.html

Olga’s Gallery [Online], Available: http://www.abcgallery.com

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