Chagall : I and the village

Résumé du document

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) is one of the best loved artists of the 20th century. Born outside Vitbesk, a small Russian city of 50,000 inhabitants, he was naturalized French in 1937. His Russian childhood was to have important influence on his all work, and his dream-like memories of this period pervade many of his paintings. This is particularly the case of one of his most famous paintings, I and the village. This masterpiece, dated 1911 by Chagall (from memory), was probably painted in the spring of 1912, as part of a series of large compositions made in "La Ruche", Paris. The painting, 75(5/8) x 59(5/8) was given his name by Blaise Cendrars, a French poet and friend of Chagall. Exhibited for the first time in Berlin in 1914, it is now at the Museum of Modern Art

Extraits

[...] If the picture represents his memories about his village and himself, we may now make sense of its various elements. The cow on the left is a recurrent memory of his youth in rural Lyozno, a village near Vitbesk. In the background, the churches and the houses represent the neighborhood of his father's house. Chagall describes it in My life as row of lavatories, little houses, windows, gateways, a church, a little hill”[9]. Giving such a clear explanation of the other elements of the picture is not so simple. [...]

[...] ( As the circle is the perfectly symmetrical shape that suggests unity, the picture suggests a unification of the green man and the cow, of reality and imagination, of I and the Village. The nosegay that the man is holding seems to blend the fragmented parts together through a fusion of colors In a word, Chagall's message would be that different fragments and polarities in life can be brought in harmony”[16]. I do not think that any global and comprehensive meaning should be drown from I and the village. These comprehensive interpretations are possible only by placing the emphasis on one particular characteristic of the painting. [...]

[...] We may first see an influence of the Russian icons that fascinated Chagall as a child: icons are defined by their simplicity of form, their rich colors and their non-natural use of space[3]. I and the village shares these features. When Chagall arrived to Paris, he had already his own style, and it was above all the “lumière liberté” of Paris that had the most influence on him. Thus, one may clearly see in the bright colors of I and the village - the red circle, for instance and the outburst of colors provided by the nosegay a strong influence of Fauvism. [...]

[...] Compton, Chagall Aleksandr Kamensky, Chagall : the Russian years, 1907- p116 Jean Cassou, Chagall André Verdet, Chagall's world : reflections from the Mediterranean Marc Chagall, Chagall by Chagall [7]Susan P. Compton, Chagall Chag over the roofs of the world” André Verdet, Chagall's world : reflections from the Mediterranean Marc Chagall, My Life p35 quoted by Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall p.41 [11]Monica Bohm-Duchen, Marc Chagall p.12 Howard Greenfeld, Marc Chagall p.88 Werner Haftmann, Marc Chagall Susan P. Compton, Chagall An invitation to see; 125 paintings from the Museum of Modern Art. Introd. and comments by Helen M. [...]

[...] This is particularly the case of one of his most famous paintings, I and the village. This masterpiece, dated 1911 by Chagall (from memory), was probably painted in the spring of 1912, as part of a series of large compositions made in Ruche”, Paris. The painting, 75(5/8) x 59(5/8) was given his name by Blaise Cendrars, a French poet and friend of Chagall. Exhibited for the first time in Berlin in 1914, it is now at the Museum of Modern Art. [...]