L. G. Safiullina, G. I. Batyrshina
82
“Be recollected, my brother, David,
young, exiled from life
without honour, ceremonials,
funeral feasts ...
only God knows where he lies now.”
28
Chagall made several portraits of David in which he is inseparable
from the mandolin.
The idea of being consoled by music in hardships and grief is
presented in the picture Loneliness. Although the melody does not “sound”
here formally, the violin in the centre of composition testifies to the
curative influence of musical art on the human soul.
The development of this idea can be observed in the etching David
sings, accompanying himself with the harp before Saul, and relieves his sufferings,
resurrecting a well-known Bible story about poor Saul, subject to sudden
outbursts of melancholy and aggression which could be alleviated only by
music (fig. 20). The Psalmist David is one of the Chagall’s favourite figures;
the artist created numerous pictures of the second king of Israel in his early
and middle years in his Bible lithographs and pictures (David with his Harp,
fig. 21,
A Tower of Tsar David,
fig. 22). Everywhere the hero is depicted with
28
Chagall 1989.
Fig. 20. David sings, accompanying himself with
the harp before Saul, and relieves his sufferings (The
First Book of Samuel, XVI, 19-23), 1956.
Paper, etching, 30.7/24.8 cm. Nice, National
Museum of Marc Chagall
Fig. 21. David with his Harp, 1956.
Lithograph, paper, 36/26.5 cm. Nice,
National Museum of Marc Chagall
www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html / www.cimec.ro
Musical Images as a Reflection of the Artistic Universalism of Marc Chagall
83
a harp, based on the Hebrew string instrument, the kinnor, mentioned in
the Bible.
King Solomon is also never parted
from the harp (kinnor), praising the
mighty power of love. In the series The
Song of Songs, Solomon’s strains,
“accompanying” the embraces of lovers,
straightforwardly express sensorially
ecstatic feelings, showing considerable
alignment with the wedding ceremony
scenes that often occur in Chagall’s
canvases. It is not without cause that the
canonical Testament story is interpreted
not only as tale of the love borne by
Solomon for the girl Shulamite, but also
as a collection of hymeneal songs,
reproducing the structure of a wedding
rite. The use of bright, warm, inviting
colours with erotic hidden motifs is
typical of Chagall’s works in The Song of
Songs (fig. 23) series.
Ancient musical instruments - bells, lyres, shofars (Jewish ritual
instrument made from a ram’s horn), Greek cymbals (crotals), flutes, pipes
and drums
29
are integral features of Chagall’s works on mythological and
Bible themes, such as
The Dance of Mariam (
fig. 24),
A Myth about Orpheus
(fig. 25), Orpheus, Daphnis and Chloe, Sarah and Angels, Creation, etc.
The theme of love and music in the Bible forms the basis for
harpsichord cover painting, A Biblical message (fig. 26), which graces the
National Museum of Marc Chagall in Nice. The painting is devoted to the
meeting of Isaac, Abraham’s son, and Rebecca, his future beloved wife.
Several musicians are present here, but the most significant is the image of
Tsar David, flying towards the enamoured couple. The rest of the musicians
29
Eugene Marlow made a statistical calculation of musical instruments in Chagall’s works:
“His 10,000 + artworks notwithstanding, a cursory analysis of several hundred of his
artworks reveals 16 different instruments: accordion, balalaika, cello, cymbal, flute, guitar,
harp, horn, bass drum, keyboard, mandolin, saxophone, small bell, tambourine, trumpet,
and violin. Further, there are several graphic references to a full circus orchestra. By far,
though, the most frequently “painted” instrument is the violin, followed by the cello, and
the horn. Further, there are several graphic references to a full circus orchestra. By far,
though, the most frequently “painted” instrument is the violin, followed by the cello, and
the horn” (http://www.eugenemarlow.com/2013/09/30/the-musical-icons-of-marc-
chagall, accessed 20 June 2014).
Fig. 22. King David’s Tower, 1968-
1971. Oil on canvas, 117/90 cm.
Nice, National Museum of Marc
Chagall
www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html / www.cimec.ro
L. G. Safiullina, G. I. Batyrshina
84
are placed at the bottom; their size does not exceed the figures, scattered
across the landscape. A violinist, playing inspirationally is also depicted on
the harpsichord’s cover.
“Love and music are presented against moderate nameless landscape, where
soft heavenly bluest grades into yellowness of sands, separate small figures
of people and animals are seen, dilapidated houses are placed far away. The
composition is simple and harmonious. This landscape, inspired by Music
and Love, as if saturated with them, dissolves them in itself.”
30
The close entwinement of love and
music is native to Chagall’s genre of
biblical paintings. Music fills the scenes
depicting lovers with deep meaning,
showing their eternal sensual attraction
to each other, or, on the contrary, their
alienation. In episodes connected with wedding rites and temples, the ritual
role of musical art is vividly depicted. Later, the moment of his marriage to
Bella, described by Chagall as “the most important in [his] life,” was
frequently revisited by Chagall in his art. It is notable, that the
autobiography does not focus on merrymaking on the occasion of
ceremony, but on the contrary, describes how before the ceremony, his
fiancé was “startled, seized with quivering, stood in the crowd,”
31
and how
after the wedding he “was sitting, like a statue, ... near my betrothed. Even
in my coffin I could hardly have had such a statuesque and long face.”
32
This description, despite the ironical tone of the narrator, shows the severe
30
Maykapar 1990.
31
Chagall 1994.
32
Ibid.
Fig. 23. A Song of Songs, 1974. Oil on
canvas, 46/55 cm. Private collection
Fig. 24. The Dance of Myriam, 1966.
Paper, watercolour, 44.3/32 cm.
Nice, National Museum of Marc
Chagall
www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html / www.cimec.ro