The Promenade 《散步》

爱艺

During the winter of 1917-18， soon after painting the Vitebsk landscapes， Chagall created The Promenade （oil on canvas， 169.6 cm×163.4 cm）. It was painted in Vitebsk， and showed that exuberant zest for living which went hand in hand with the new phase of artistic accomplishment he had achieved. To that must be added the political atmosphere—the exhilarating sense of freedom and optimism generated by the October Revolution， which had just taken place. For the Jews the revolution meant true liberation; at last they were entitled to the same full rights as every other citizen of the state. Humiliations such as the young Chagall had experienced during his studies in St. Petersburg， where Jews were allowed to stay only with a special residential permit， were now out of the question. And， as an artist， Chagall belonged to the avant-garde， which had everything to gain from these revolutionary changes. In addition， there was the happiness with Bella to put a golden glow on life despite the many adverse circumstances of the outside world.

In The Promenade Bella in ecstatic jubilation flutters like a flag in the wind， held up in the sky on the arm of Chagall， who is laughing with joy and is dressed in his best clothes.

This ecstasy is in accord with the expansive decorative character of the picture. The dancing double figure extends over the plane like an ornamental emblem. The precious ornamentation of Bellas skirt pleats， as in a Futurist rendering of movement， greatly emphasizes the swinging effect of her floating figure. This ornamental stratification of form goes through the whole picture， arranging the meadow into a geometrical pattern， grouping the medley of cubic houses， reaching up into the sky in a variety of transparent geometrical forms， and culminating in the exuberantly patterned picnic cloth， which appears purely as a surface ornament. All Chagalls experiences gained from Cubism and Futurism—together with those from Henri Matisse—have clearly gone into the making of the picture， but they are used to bring about a closer description of reality.

The Promenade is currently exhibited at the State Russian Museum， St. Petersburg.

1917年至1918年的那个冬天，夏加尔先画了几幅维捷布斯克的风景画，之后不久就创作了《散步》（布面油画，169.6厘米×163.4厘米）。此画创作于维捷布斯克，画面满溢生活的热情，而夏加尔在艺术上所达到的新阶段也与此息息相关。对此，还必须了解当时的政治氛围——十月革命刚刚发生，带来的自由和乐观令人振奋。对犹太人来说，这场革命意味着真正的解放;他们终于平等享有了其他公民享有的全部权利。青年夏加尔在圣彼得堡学习期间所经历的那种羞辱如今一去不返——那会儿的圣彼得堡，犹太人只有获得特别居住证才能居留。作为画家，夏加尔属于先锋派，可以从这些革命性变化中吸收种种有用的元素。此外，尽管外面的世界诸多艰难，但贝拉带来的幸福快乐让他们的生活散发出金色的光芒。

在《散步》中，欣喜若狂的贝拉像一面旗子在风中飘扬，夏加尔用自己的一只胳膊将她高高举在空中。夏加尔开心大笑，身穿他最体面的衣服。

这种狂喜与此画延展的装饰性很相符。那一对起舞的情侣就像一个带着某种象征的装饰物跨越平面。贝拉裙子上刻意做出的褶皱，就像未来主义对运动物体的描绘，极大突出了她飘浮的身体摆动的效果。这种装饰性分层贯穿整幅画：草地排列成一个几何图形，形式多样的立方体房屋组合在一起，各种透明的几何形状伸向天空，最突出的就是那块图案缤纷的印花野餐布。夏加尔得自立体主义和未来主义的所有经验——包括从亨利·马蒂斯那里吸取的——在这幅画中表现得淋漓尽致，只是这些经验被用来更真实地描述现實。

《散步》现藏于俄罗斯圣彼得堡的俄罗斯国家博物馆。   □