Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

Musical Images as a Reflection of the Artistic Universalism of Marc Chagall 

 

69

meanings.” The essence of  “universalism of  integrity” lies in the 

systemacity and inclusivity of  creative representation, correlating with such 

phenomenon, as “the polyphony of  methods, genres and styles in the 

creativity of  one author as an echo of  experience of  ‘the fullness of  

existence,’ not staying within the selected form once and for all.”

9

 The 

“universalism of  bases and meanings” proclaims humanistic ideals, 

accentuates timeless aspects of  the subject matter and orients towards 

“historical foresight,” going beyond the scope of  the “visual field of  

modernity.”

10

  

We see that these provisions are relevant for each type of  art and can 

equally be the basis for analysing the developmental paths of  painters, 

musicians, theatre professionals and so on. Ludmila Daryalova points out 

the generalizing character of  the creativity of  authors to whom the term 

“artistic universalism” is applied, noting the reliance on forms assimilated in 

historical-cultural development:  

“Here can be found the romantically enlarged vision, the mythopoetic 

vision, modernistic devices of  deformation, dictates of  artistic rationalism, 

realistic psychologisms, etc., accompanied by a pathway out to symbolic 

discourse - all this is presented in synthesis, in new formation, as something 

integral and poetic.”

11

  

Thus, artistic universalism of  personality implies a certain diversity of  

thought, an aspiration to express one’s self  in different types of  art and 

even science, to open new horizons in learning the world.  

It is generally accepted that artistic universalism of  personality was 

especially notable in the Renaissance. In the opinion of  American academic 

Eugene Marlow, Mark Chagall was the direct successor to this aeesthetic.

12

 

Being gifted in different types of  art, and despite experiencing the influence 

of  expressionism, symbolism, cubism, surrealism and neo-primitivism, he 

managed to preserve his uniqueness of  idiom. The wide range of  themes, 

images and genres covered by the painter from Vitebsk - from mythological 

and iconographic scenes to present-day events of  a historical scale, from the 

thinnest love lyrics to comedic and circus performances - in all, the epic 

proportions of  his creativity, demonstrated through thousands of  works, 

make it possible to speak of  the artistic universalism of  Chagall’s 

personality and creativity as a whole.  

                                                 

9

 Studenko 2006, p. 287. 

10

 Ibid. 

11

 Daryalova 2003, p. 39. 

12

 http://www.eugenemarlow.com/2013/09/30/the-musical-icons-of-marc-chagall, 

accessed 20 June 2014. 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

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L. G. Safiullina, G. I. Batyrshina 

 

70

Chagall’s integral worldview demanded the participation of  different 

types of  art, drawing upon the language of  colours, lines, sounds, tones, 

rhythms, acrobatic stunts and dance steps. Although his artistic-literary 

connections, along with his use of  images of  circus acts and buffoonery 

have been studied thoroughly,

13

 the theme of  music in his art has not been 

explored in detail, though it is worth mentioning articles by Miriam 

Rayner,

14

 Alexander Maykapar,

15

 a note by Eugene Marlow

16

 and some well-

observed comments in the works of  Natalya Apchinskaya

17

 and Aliya 

Reich.

18

 Yet any account of  Chagall’s canvases, of  their enclosed essences 

and meanings, would be incomplete without the musical aspect. The theme 

of  music runs throughout the painter’s work, accompanying him through 

his entire life, emerging in different genres of  his creative output. Music 

initially appeared as a central theme in his works, then faded into 

insignificance, but never disappeared completely from his field of  vision.  

The purpose of  this article is to study the musical iconography in the 

works of  Mark Chagall, offering a conceptual interpretation of  the images 

of  musicians and musical instruments in his paintings, graphics, stained 

glass works, panels and frescos, revealing the universalism within the 

personality and creative output of  artist, as well offering new perspectives 

on interconnections between the art and music of  the 20

th

 century.  

Chagall himself  possessed musical skills: he liked to sing and play 

violin. In his later years, he reflected upon the reasons behind his attraction 

to musical performance: “Why did I sing? Why did I know that the voice is 

required not only for bawling and for railing at sisters? One way or another, 

I had a voice and I could develop it.”

19

 Chagall recalls his first experiences 

of  performance, singing in synagogue, with humour, recalling his childhood 

dreams of  becoming a musician:  

“I was assigned as an assistant to the Cantor, and on holidays the whole 

synagogue and I myself  clearly heard my sonorous soprano. I saw the smiles 

on faces of  the diligently listening congregation and dreamt: “I will be a 

singer, a Cantor. I will enter the conservatory…. In addition, one violinist 

                                                 

13

 David Simanovich considers different aspects of the problem “Chagall and poetry in the 

20

th

 century” (Simanovich 2008); Elena Ge focuses attention on the topic of Chagall and 

language, analysing, amongst other things, the correlation between Chagall and Apollinaire 

(Ge 2013); Natalya Apchinskaya and Olga Klepatskaya reveal the role of circus imagery in 

the painter’s creative output (Apchinskaya 2006; Klepatskaya 2008). 

14

 Rajner 2005; Rajner 2008. 

15

 Maykapar 1990. 

16

 http://www.eugenemarlow.com/2013/09/30/the-musical-icons-of-marc-chagall, accessed 20 

June 2014. 

17

 Apchinskaya 1990; Apchinskaya 1995; Apchinskaya 2004. 

18

 Reich 2012. 

19

 Chagall 1994. 

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