Author, Lecturer, Broadcaster & Cultural Arts Expert;
President of Art Collage JANG/J Music/J Art/J Books & Media.
Author of over 40 books published on Amazon, including The Crimson Horror series and The Great and Immortal Painters’ Stories series.
Dedicated to sharing insights into art, culture, literature, and creative expression through writing, lectures, media, and content creation.
This original instrumental composition was inspired by Pablo
Picasso's groundbreaking masterpiece, “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.”
Painted in 1907, the work challenged traditional artistic
conventions and became one of the most influential paintings in the history of
modern art. Its fragmented forms and radical perspectives laid the foundation
for Cubism and forever changed the visual language of art.
With this composition, I sought to translate the painting's bold
energy, tension, mystery, and revolutionary spirit into sound.
Part of the series:
“Melodies on Canvas – A Journey Through Art & Sound”
A project by J Music exploring timeless masterpieces through
original instrumental music.
Listen with your eyes.
See with your ears.
If you enjoy the journey, please like, subscribe, and share.
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
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 47th work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Juan Gris” in 1915.
This work is a portrait of an
expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 54.9 x 38.1
cm, and currently possessed by Metropolitan Art Museum, New York, USA.
In 1909, his first wife, Lucie
Belin, gave birth to Georges Gonzalez-Gris, who was their only child, and the
three lived at the Bateau-Lavoir in Paris from 1909 to 1911. In 1912, Gris met
Charlotte Augusta Fernande Herpin, also known as Josette, who became Juan Gris’
second companion and unofficial wife.
In 1915, Modigliani, a friend of
Gris, painted his portrait, and in 1924 Gris designed ballet sets and costumes
for Sergei Diaghilev and his famous Ballets Russes.
Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes
Gris died of kidney failure at the
age of 40 in Boulogne-sur-Seine, Paris on 11 May 1927.
In today's work, the model's dark eyebrows
and pupils make Gris’ face more vivid and clear. This is an expression of the
image of his appearance, but Modigliani, who had a genius talent for expressing
the model's character in his paintings, seems to paint his face in a clear
style with a strong feeling to suggest the Gris’ character who preferred
clarity and order.
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 46th work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Henri Laurens” in 1915. This work is a portrait of an
expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 55 x 46.5 cm,
and currently in private collection.
Henri Laurens is a French sculptor
and illustrator who was born on February 18, 1885, and died on May 5, 1954.
Henri Laurens
Multi-talented,
Laurens entered the School of Industrial Design in 1899, studied drawing and
architecture, and began to carve ornamental stone sculpture on new buildings.
The sculptures he created at the time reflected the influence of Auguste Rodin.
In 1938, he participated in
exhibitions held in European cities, including Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen,
along with Braque and Picasso, and at the São Paulo Bienal in 1953, he received
the Prize of the IV Centenary of São Paulo.
On May 5, 1954, Laurens died in
Paris, after collapsing while out on an evening walk and was buried in the
Cimetière du Montparnasse there.
Henri Laurens' grave
Looking at the work I am
introducing today, it seems that the glowing object next to the model's head was
intentionally drawn by Modigliani to suggest that the model, Henri Laurens, is
a sculptor.
In this work, Modigliani shows reminisce
for his period as a sculptor and the influence from Cubism. However, although
he was influenced by Cubism, it is quite different from the paintings of Cubist
artists such as Picasso, Braque and Gris, who decomposed their models into
geometrical pieces and drew them so that they could hardly recognize the shape
of the model.
Besides, even though Modigliani was
influenced by Cubism, this work also shows his stubborn character and style, trying
to express the personality of his model in his work.
It seems that the red color overlaid
on the model's face reflects the multi-talented and passionate personality of Henri
Laurens.
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 34th work to introduce for this
week is “Bride and Groom (1915)”.
This work is a portrait of an
expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 55.2 x 46.4
cm.
It is currently owned by the Museum
of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, USA.
This work has various titles such
as "The Newlyweds" and "The Couple".
Most of Modigliani's works are
portraits of individuals, but this work, which he painted a couple, is one of
the most unusual and rare works.
Modigliani also painted most of his
works using the poor as models, but it is also exceptional to depict rich
people.
In this work, the man can be
imagined as a rich man in his cool and expensive dress, and the woman’s dress
cannot be seen, but it is easily imagined that she also may be wearing a cool
and expensive dress that matches the groom's level.
This work is a good example showing
some of Modigliani's unique work styles.
In other words, the elongated face
and neck of the model are such examples, and the models’ small mouth, pointed
nose and empty eyes without pupils also show the typical style of Modigliani
influenced by African masks and sculptures.
The woman in this work also shows
the aesthetic ideal that Modigliani pursues: dark hair and pale skin.
There are only two works, which
Modigliani, who specialized in a single figure, depicted a couple.
They are the “Bride and Groom” and
a year later, in 1916, “Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz”. For that reason, this work is often
compared with “Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz”.
However, if the two works are
compared, this work is much more faithful to African masks and sculptures, while
the portrait of Jacques Lipchitz couple is much softer and more curved.
The actual character of this work
is unknown, but it is likely that they are acquaintances of Modigliani, as the
figures of his other portraits. However, Modigliani met a variety
of people while living in Paris, so they might be a couple whom Modigliani
doesn't know at all.
Jean Cocteau once said that this
work might be inspired by the upstarts whom Modigliani accidentally discovered
on the road.
This work also reveals the
influence of Cubism, which Modigliani was influenced, in many parts.
For the background, it looks as if
the puzzle pieces have been put together, by systematically separating it into
vertical and horizontal lines.
In addition, Modigliani divided the
canvas in half, and strictly confined the man and woman in each half of the
space and painted.
In each half of the canvas, a
vertical line was drawn at the center of the man and woman, respectively, and
the characteristics of the model were constructed around this vertical line.
In other words, to balance the right-sided
nose and hat and the larger ear, Modigliani painted the left-sided beard and
bow tie for the man and the left part of the dress darker.
For the woman, Modigliani painted
the larger amount of hair by drawing the left side of her head higher and
larger and the left-sided mouth to balance the right-sided nose, the earring on
one side, and the shoulder on the right side.
Modigliani also emphasized the
difference in height between the man and woman by using different background
expression.
In other words, Modigliani used
complex vertical and horizontal lines in the woman’s background while he did
not express a specific background for the man.
In this work, the man and woman
show opposite appearances: the man is tall and old, but the woman is small and
young. Therefore, the two don't look like
a couple.
Perhaps the reason why Modigliani,
who mainly painted the poor, drew the rich couple might be to maximizeridicule
and resentment against the rich by contrasting the unsuitable man and woman
under the title, The Couple.
Perhaps Modigliani might express
despise and ridicule for the rich who think of love easily by using the title,
The Couple, ironically for the man and woman who seem to be immoral.
This work borrowed some styles of
Cubism, but Modigliani still tries to stick to his subject of interest; human
body and face.
