《撑阳伞的母牛》

爱艺

In 1944， a tragedy struck the Chagall. Chagalls wife—Bella Chagall died of a viral infection. The couple had loved each other strongly from the moment they first met， and had lived happily together as husband and wife for 29 years. For Chagall， this was a heavy blow. More than just the object of his affection， Bella had been his muse and his kindred soul， with the same ironic， light-hearted approach to life， which can be read easily from the texts of her works （Bella was a writer， though she was never published during her lifetime）.

For the first time since childhood， Chagall set aside his brush and easel. He would be unable to paint for many long months， almost an entire year.

In 1946， Chagall ventured back into Europe， where his career had begun. Over there the painter met Virginia Haggard McNeill， with whom he had an affair. This revived his desire to paint and imbued his brush with a fresh vivacity， visible in his work Cow with Parasol （oil on canvas， 77.5 cm × 106 cm， 1946）.

This poetic picture is a wonderful illustration of Chagalls fertile fantasy and mastery of colouristic techniques. The subject is absurd—a cow walking over the roofs of the village， holding a parasol. The warmth of the sun is conveyed in a glowing orange tone. The artist has adopted the classic stylistic device of substitution， replacing man with an animal： it is a device that is characteristic of Chagalls art， and is used in exemplary fashion in this painting， where it contributes a great deal to the anecdotal charm that is at the core of the pictures irony. Nonetheless， sombre colours still dominate the painting， and its humoresque qualities seem to be a compulsive insistence on cheerfulness.

In My Life， Marc Chagall said：

But perhaps my art is the art of a lunatic， ... mere glittering quicksilver， a blue soul breaking in upon my picture.

The original painting is held in a private collection.

1944年，一場悲剧降临夏加尔家。夏加尔的妻子贝拉·夏加尔因病毒感染而亡故。他们二人当年一见钟情，自此便深爱着对方，并一起度过了29年幸福的婚姻生活。对夏加尔来说，这是一个沉重的打击。贝拉不仅是他的爱人，还是他的缪斯女神，与他心灵相通，他们对生活抱着同样嘲讽而轻松的态度，这可以从贝拉的文字中清楚地看出来（贝拉写了不少东西，但她生前从未发表过）。

从小到大第一次，夏加尔放下了画笔和画架。很长一段日子，将近一整年的时间，他都无法作画。

1946年，夏加尔再闯欧洲——他的职业生涯开启之地。重回欧洲，夏加尔遇到了弗吉尼亚·哈格德·麦克尼尔，两人传出了一段风流韵事。这让他重新燃起创作的欲望，给他的画笔注入了新鲜活力，《撑阳伞的母牛》（布面油画，77.5厘米×106厘米，1946年）一画就清楚呈现出这一点。

这幅画充满诗意，极好展示了夏加尔丰富的想象和娴熟的用色。该画主题有些荒谬——一头奶牛持着一把阳伞，行走在村子屋顶的上方。明亮的橙色调传递出太阳的温暖。画家采用了经典风格的替代手法，用动物替代人：这种手法是夏加尔的艺术创作特征，在此画中的运用堪称典范，大大增添了奇闻轶事的魅力，而这种魅力正是该画讽刺的核心。尽管如此，这幅画仍以暗色为主，画面呈现的诙谐幽默似乎是一种强颜欢笑。

在《我的生活》一书中，马克·夏加尔写道：

但也许，我的艺术就是一个疯子的艺术……只是闪闪发光的水银，像一个忧伤的灵魂闯入我的图画。

原画现为私人收藏。