Marc Chagall, and His Paintings 夏加尔其人其画

肖文

Marc Chagall was born in Liozne， near Vitebsk， in modern day Belarus， in 1887. He was a Russian-French-Jewish artist of international repute who， arguably， was one of the most influential modernist artists of the 20th Century， both as an early modernist， and as an important part of the Jewish artistic tradition. He distinguished himself in many arenas： as a painter， book illustrator， ceramicist， stained-glass painter， stage set designer and tapestry maker. Widely admired by both his contemporaries， and by later artists， he forged his creative path in spite of the many difficulties and injustices he faced in his long lifetime.

Chagalls early life in the shtetl1 with his Hasidic Jew parents was a strong influence on his work throughout his life. He carried a Russian mysticism， and an intrinsic understanding of and sympathy for his religious roots wherever he travelled. Though open to new ideas， and embracing many elements of the modernist style， of which he was an early proponent， the dreams and realities of his early life ever formed the core of his aesthetics. It is important to note that， unlike some other Jews of his generation， he never tried to hide his connection to Judaism. Much of his work contains the internal dichotomy2 between traditional Jewish art and modernist art.

In 1906， Chagall moved to St. Petersburg， the centre of the Russian artistic world. He studied under Léon Bakst3 at the Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting from 1908-1910.

Paris was at that time the centre of the modern art world. In 1910， Chagall moved there， drawn to this centre of creative endeavour. Paris then was abuzz with the new art of Cubism， and exhibitions of the work of Cezanne， Van Gogh and early Matisse. He became interested in， and incorporated into his painting， elements of cubism， and also new trends of， of example， futurism and orphism4.

It was during this time that Chagall had his first commercial successes. He became an integral part of what later became known as the Ecole de Paris5. Some of his paintings from this period， like Paris Through the Window， show his very successful attempts to fit into his new milieu， while others， like The Birthday， and I and the Village are filled with nostalgia for his old life in Vitebsk.

After a number of large and successful exhibitions， Chagall went back to Russia to visit his family， and then fiancée， the subject of many of his paintings， Bella Rosenfeld. Unfortunately， he was forced to stay indefinitely in Russia after the outbreak of the First World War prevented his return to France. Chagalls work during this period was dominated， of course， by his thoughts of the war， and death， as seen in War， though also by a nostalgia for his everyday life in Vitebsk， The Fiddler and his love for Bella， in such works as La Mariée and The Promenade. Eventually， in 1923， Chagall returned to Paris， with his wife， Bella.

Chagall travelled all over the world as his reputation of a painter and illustrator of high repute grew. He created etchings for works including The Bible， Gogols “Dead Souls” and “La Fontaines Fables”， later recognised as his finest illustrations.

The terrible events of the Second World War put Chagall in danger. As a high-profile Jew he was put on a list of artists whose lives were at risk from the Nazis， and， fortunately， in 1941 he escaped to America.

In New York， Chagall was a fish out of water， but still managed to forge an artistic life here， where he did not yet speak the language. He forged friendships with Mondrian6 and Breton7， and， represented by the son of Henri Matisse， held successful exhibitions. He also designed large， dramatic and beautiful sets for the ballet， “Aleko”.

But the war was an extremely dark period for Chagall. He was deeply and profoundly distraught by the decimation of his home town Vitebsk， and the news of the concentration camps. The death of Bella in 1944 compounded his grief. The United States were never home to him， and in 1947 he returned to France.

He continued to paint， and also had huge success with stained glass windows. His masterful use of colour and symbolism were strongly praised. Picasso once stated that when Matisse died， Chagall would be the only one who really understood what colour was.

Chagall， throughout his career， incorporated elements from many schools of modern art， including Cubism， Fauvism， Symbolism， Surrealism， Orphism and Futurism. Even though， his work revealed deeper levels of a resonant， lyrical emotional aesthetic， of music and culture， of a deep， intrinsic understanding of Jewish heritage.

In 1985， Chagall died and was buried in France. Chagalls work shows a masterful understanding of colour， and a deep emotional resonance， which is perhaps why his work is still so popular today. His contribution to 20th Century art world is one only very few artists can claim to have made.

馬克·夏加尔于1887年出生在今日白俄罗斯维捷布斯克附近的里奥涅。他是国际知名的俄裔法籍犹太画家，称得上20世纪最具影响力的现代主义画家之一，既是现代主义画派的先驱，也是犹太艺术传统重要的传承者。他在很多领域成就斐然：绘画、书籍插画、陶艺、彩色玻璃画、舞台布景设计和挂毯制作。尽管在漫长的一生中遭遇到许多困难和不公，他仍坚持开拓自己的创作道路，受到同时代及后代画家的广泛赞誉和敬仰。

夏加尔早年与其信奉犹太教哈西德派的父母生活在犹太小镇上，这段生活对他整个绘画生涯都有着巨大的影响。无论他去到哪里，作品中都带有俄国神秘主义色彩，以及对自己宗教根源的内在理解和同情。尽管他积极拥抱新的理念，作品中吸收了他早期倡导的现代主义风格的诸多元素，但早年生活的梦想和现实一直是他审美的核心。值得注意的是，他与同时代其他的一些犹太人不同，从未试图隐藏自己的犹太血统。他的创作很多都蕴含了传统犹太艺术和现代主义艺术的内在对立。

1906年，夏加尔前往圣彼得堡，那里是俄国艺术界的中心。1908年至1910年，他在兹凡思瓦绘画学校学习，师从利昂·巴克斯特。

那时，巴黎是現代艺术界的中心。1910年，夏加尔受到巴黎这个创意中心的吸引，来到这里。当时的巴黎满眼是新兴的立体主义艺术，塞尚画展、梵高画展和马蒂斯早期作品展接踵而至。他对立体主义元素产生了兴趣，并将这些元素融入自己的绘画中，同时，未来主义和奥菲主义等一些新的流派也引起了他的关注。

正是在此期间，夏加尔获得了最初的商业成功。他成为后来人所共知的“巴黎（学院）派”的重要成员。这一时期，他的一些画作，如《窗外的巴黎》，展示出他非常成功地融入了新环境;另一些作品，如《生日》及《我与村庄》，则充满了对儿时在维捷布斯克度过岁月的怀念。

多次成功举办大型画展之后，夏加尔回到俄国看望家人和当时的未婚妻——也是他多幅画作的主角——贝拉·罗森菲尔德。不幸的是，第一次世界大战爆发，他无法返回法国，只能无限期滞留俄国。自然而然，夏加尔这一时期的作品主要反映了他对战争和死亡的思考，正如画作《战争》所呈现的，同时也有作品表达了对维捷布斯克寻常日子的怀念，如《小提琴手》，还有一些则传递出他对贝拉的爱，如《新娘》和《散步》。1923年，夏加尔终于带着妻子贝拉回到了巴黎。

夏加尔在世界各地游历，无论是作为优秀的画家还是插画师，他的名声都越来越响。他为《圣经》、果戈理的《死魂灵》以及《拉封丹寓言》等创作了蚀刻版画插图，这些后来都被公认为他最好的插画作品。

第二次世界大战的恐怖氛围令夏加尔身处险境。作为知名的犹太画家，他被列入纳粹的艺术家黑名单，生命时刻受到威胁。所幸，1941年，他成功逃到了美国。

夏加尔不懂英语，在纽约，他如同离水之鱼，与周遭环境格格不入，但他仍然设法开启了自己的艺术生活。他与蒙德里安和布勒东建立了友谊，亨利·马蒂斯的儿子出面为他举办了成功的画展，他还为芭蕾舞剧《阿莱科》设计了绚丽夺目的大型舞台布景。

但对夏加尔来说，这场战争是一段极其黑暗的时期。家乡维捷布斯克被毁的消息和各个集中营的传闻令他悲痛欲绝。1944年贝拉因病去世更加剧了他的悲伤。美国从未让他产生家的眷恋，1947年，他回到了法国。

他继续作画，在彩绘玻璃窗方面也取得了巨大成功。他对色彩和象征手法的娴熟运用大受赞赏。毕加索曾经表示，马蒂斯死后，夏加尔将是唯一真正懂得色彩的人。

在整个绘画生涯中，夏加尔吸收了很多现代艺术流派的元素，包括立体主义、野兽主义、象征主义、超现实主义、奥菲主义和未来主义。尽管如此，他的创作还揭示了更深层次的东西，包括引人共鸣的抒情式情感美学、音乐与文化，以及对犹太传统内在的深刻理解。

1985年，夏加尔在法国去世并落葬。夏加尔的创作呈现出他对色彩的精深理解，传达出深刻的情感共鸣，这也许就是其作品至今仍深受欢迎的原因所在。他对20世纪艺术界的贡献之大，没有几人能与之比肩。