Interesting Art Stories: 67. I and the Village, Marc Chagall, ACJ Art Academy

 

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Currently, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 67th story is “I and the Village” by Marc Chagall.

Portrait of Chagall, Yehuda (Yuri) Pen

“I and the Village” is an oil on canvas painting by the Belarusian-French artist Marc Chagall in 1911. Titled by the poet Blaise Cendrars, a close friend of Chagall, the painting was inspired in part by the developing Cubism at the time. As the title suggests, this painting is a "narrative self-portrait" featuring memories of Chagall's childhood in the town of Vitebsk, Russia, and it shows Chagall’s distinct vocabulary of abstraction.

Marc Chagall's childhood home, Vitebsk, Belarus

This painting can be divided into several sections. The upper right shows Chagall's hometown, which includes a church, a series of houses, a black-clothed man holding a scythe and a female violinist in front of the man, and further emphasizes the dreamlike feel of the painting with the woman and some houses in the village upside down. Below that, there is a green-faced man, with a hat and a necklace with a cross, that some say Chagall. At the bottom, there is a hand holding a glowing tree. The object next to it is an object that some say a child's bouncing ball, which appears to be a toy Chagall played with as a child. Finally, there is a milkmaid milking a goat on the top the head of a lamb, a motif common to Chagall. 

Chagall Art Centre, Vitebsk, Belarus

It is noteworthy that this painting is a reflection of Chagall's dreams and memories, and its significance is that it combines various elements of Eastern European folktales, both Belarusian and Yiddish.

This painting is one of Chagall's earliest surviving works, and in the painting, he focused on color, form and shape instead of ignoring the laws of gravity and perspective.

Painted a year after Chagall moved to Paris from Russia, this painting is currently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Sculpture of Marc Chagall outside Chagall House, Vitebsk,
Belarus

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The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 64. Portrait of Oscar Miestchaninoff (1916)

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Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.

The 64th work to introduce for this week is “Portrait of Oscar Miestchaninoff” in 1916.

This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 46 x 33 cm, and is kept in a private collection.

Oscar Miestchaninoff was a sculptor born in 1886 in Vicebsk, Belarus. After receiving basic art education there, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Odessa from 1905 to 1906.

He moved to Paris in 1907 and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and made friends with Picasso, Diego Rivera, Soutine and Modigliani.

He was a sculptor who made busts and torsos of marble, granite and bronze.

In 1919, he visited Burma, Siam and Cambodia to study sculptures of the ancient cities of Angkor and Khmer. He also went to India in 1927 to study rock-cut temples in Ellora, and then became a recognized expert in the arts of Ancient Asia.

Modigliani, a friend of the sculptor Oscar Miestchaninoff, the model for today's work, drew his head as the almost perfect circle as well as a childlike outfit, giving the impression of a caricature.

Although they are Modigliani's styles appeared in other paintings as well, the model's crooked nose, mouth, and thin eyebrows in this painting reinforce such childlike and caricature feeling. In addition, the short upper and lower bodies of the model and the thick and short neck are the elements that make the model more like a child. 

This caricature style was the style Modigliani enjoyed drawing the local people when he lived in his hometown of Livorno. This work might be reflecting his wish he wanted to return to his childhood. It seems that his such feeling, missing his hometown and childhood is portrayed in this work.

Oscar Miestchaninoff (1917)

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The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 55. Portrait of Chaim Soutine (1916)

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Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.

The 55th work to introduce for this week is “Portrait of Chaim Soutine” in 1916.

This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 100 x 65 cm, which is currently in private collection.

Chaïm Soutine was a Russian painter who was born on January 13, 1893 and died on August 9, 1943. He contributed greatly to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris.

He was born as the tenth of eleven children from a poor Jewish tailor’s family living in Smilavichy in the Minsk of the Russian Empire (presently Belarus). He studied at a small art academy in Vilnius from 1910 to 1913. Moving to Paris in 1913 with his friends Pinchus Kremegne and Michel Kikoine, Soutine studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Fernand Cormon.

Still Life with Apples, Wine, Vase and Cup, Pinchus Kremegne

Landscape with Figures, Michel Kikoine

A Harem, Fernand Cormon

For a time, he and his friends lived at La Ruche. It was a residence for struggling artists in Montparnasse where Soutine met and became friends with Modigliani.

He didn't even know how to use a fork and a knife when he arrived in Paris because he had lived in extreme poverty in his hometown. On the other hand, Modigliani, who was well educated and cultured, made a lot of efforts to help Soutine when becoming friends with him such as teaching him eating etiquette. 

As a painter, Soutine's style was opposed to that of Modigliani, and his work was wild, expressive, and often even frightening.

Chemin de la Fontaine des Tins at Céret, Chaim Soutine

Soutine had never painted a portrait of Modigliani, while Modigliani painted Soutine many times. Modigliani may have often painted him to express their very close friendship and that they had a lot of hard times together. Meanwhile, Soutine may not have dared to ask Modigliani to pose, who was almost 10 years older than himself. 

Chaim Soutine (c.1915)

Portrait of Chaim Soutine (1915)

Portrait of Chaim Soutine (1917)

The portrait highlights the agony of the young artist, Soutine, who has yet to be acknowledged for his worth through his gaze, the rebellious hair style and reddish complexion. In addition, the contrast between the dark and gloomy tones of the background and the beige-ochre color of the jacket further enhances the agony of the model. 

The particular position of Soutine’s fingers of his right hand is thought to be the sign of the Jewish priest showing blessings. This can be also seen as suggesting that Soutine of Jewish origin are from Jewish priest family, but this is not certain. 

However, one thing is certain: Such position of the fingers is one of the many symbols that Modigliani liked to include in his paintings.

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ARTIST OF THE WEEK: 30. Chaim Soutine, ACJ Art Academy

Name: Chaim Soutine

Born: 13 January 1893, Smilavichy, Belarus

Died: 9 August 1943, Paris, France

Nationality: Belarusian, Russian

Art Movement: Expressionism

Field: Painting

Influenced by: Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, Gustave Courbet, Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne

Influenced on: Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Francis Bacon, Michel Kikoine, Richard Diebenkorn

Friends/Co-workers: Amedeo Modigliani, Michel Kikoine, Pinchus Kremegne

Chaïm Soutine was a Russian-French painter of Jewish origin. He made a significant contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris. 

Inspired by classic paintings in European tradition, such as the works of Rembrandt, Chardin and Courbet, Soutine developed an individual style that considered shape, color and texture more than representation. 

This development served as a bridge between more traditional approaches and the developing form of Abstract Expressionism.

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1. Rembrandt

2. Francisco Goya

3. Gustave Courbet

4. Paul Cezanne

5. Amedeo Modigliani

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Currently, “J art”, an internet mall of “Art Collage JANG” is selling artprints of worldwide famous artists.

In relation with this sale, I will introduce one by one every week, whose artprints are on the sale list, by following categories.

1. Artist’s Bio: Introduce brief bio of selected artist

2. Famous Works: Move to the corresponding artprints in J art by clicking

3. All Works List: Move to all works of selected artist in J art by clicking

4. Related Artists: Move to the works of the artists in J art, who are related to the selected artist.

5. All Artists List: Move to the list of all artists selling artprints in J art

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