"Do not move. Stay just as you are", he commanded with what I can only call hot urgency...
He put a fresh canvas on his easel, snatched up brushes, and flung himself at it so passionately that the easel shook. Dabs of red, blue, white, and black flew through the air and swept me up with them. Up and up. I looked down and he was standing on tiptoe on one foot. He lifted me off the ground, leapt up himself, and glided with me up to the ceiling..
He put a fresh canvas on his easel, snatched up brushes, and flung himself at it so passionately that the easel shook. Dabs of red, blue, white, and black flew through the air and swept me up with them. Up and up. I looked down and he was standing on tiptoe on one foot. He lifted me off the ground, leapt up himself, and glided with me up to the ceiling..
Marc and first wife Bella Rosenfeld Chagall, Paris, 1929 by André Kertész
Bella flung open the door, and there it was, a painting of both of them soaring upward on a diagonal, his neck swooping back on his supple body so that they were nose to nose, airborne in the little room.
"He whispered a song and I could see the song in his eyes. We flew out the window as easy as could be, dancing through space hand in hand. I saw at once that he had painted my ecstasy".
She became quiet and reflective. "Life was new after that".
I was captivated by her telling and by the painting itself. "Love made visible"- I murmured'.
It’s her birthday and in a moment of emotion and passion, her husband decides that the flowers he got for her are not enough. And so, he literally ‘leaps’ to kiss her, catching her by a wonderful surprise and carrying her away.
"The Birthday" or "Anniversary" as it’s also known, is a 1915 Marc Chagall composition featuring a simple interior typical of Russian provincial tastes of the turn of the 20th century. The two figures, a man and a woman appear to be free of having to conform to the common laws of physics. They simply float, unburdened by gravity. The woman in the painting is none other than Chagalls’ beloved first wife Bella Rosenfeld whom the artist met in St. Petersburg in 1908. Bella, in a simple black dress is shown tilted forward towards the window as if running, holding a festive bouquet of flowers. Chagall - floating lovingly above her, kissing her with his head bent and twisted, his torso turned away from her. This is an intimate setting, meant for the loved one, and that’s how the viewer gets a feeling of being in the same room as the couple and almost intruding upon an intimate moment. Like so many of Marc Chagall’s other loving tributes to his wife, this painting is filled with intimacy, caring affection, love and warmth.
In his autobiography "My Life", Chagall described his first encounter with Bella: "Her silence is mine, her eyes mine. It is as if she knows everything about my childhood, my present, my future, as if she can see right through me".
The color palette is interesting for a different reason. The primary colors in this painting are red, black, white and green - the principal colors used by Kazemir Malevich, the Suprematists and abstractionists of VHUTEMAS. It was the preferred palette for the new century, the new language of Russian modernism.
Chagall’s dynamic career included theater sets, stained glass, the two magnificent paintings at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, fairytale illustrations, Biblical interpretations and so much more.
"The Birthday" or "Anniversary" as it’s also known, is a 1915 Marc Chagall composition featuring a simple interior typical of Russian provincial tastes of the turn of the 20th century. The two figures, a man and a woman appear to be free of having to conform to the common laws of physics. They simply float, unburdened by gravity. The woman in the painting is none other than Chagalls’ beloved first wife Bella Rosenfeld whom the artist met in St. Petersburg in 1908. Bella, in a simple black dress is shown tilted forward towards the window as if running, holding a festive bouquet of flowers. Chagall - floating lovingly above her, kissing her with his head bent and twisted, his torso turned away from her. This is an intimate setting, meant for the loved one, and that’s how the viewer gets a feeling of being in the same room as the couple and almost intruding upon an intimate moment. Like so many of Marc Chagall’s other loving tributes to his wife, this painting is filled with intimacy, caring affection, love and warmth.
In his autobiography "My Life", Chagall described his first encounter with Bella: "Her silence is mine, her eyes mine. It is as if she knows everything about my childhood, my present, my future, as if she can see right through me".
The color palette is interesting for a different reason. The primary colors in this painting are red, black, white and green - the principal colors used by Kazemir Malevich, the Suprematists and abstractionists of VHUTEMAS. It was the preferred palette for the new century, the new language of Russian modernism.
Chagall’s dynamic career included theater sets, stained glass, the two magnificent paintings at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, fairytale illustrations, Biblical interpretations and so much more.
Marc and Bella Chagall
«Non ti muovere! Resta ferma dove sei…».
Ho ancora i fiori tra le mani. Non so dove metterli. Vorrei immergerli nell’acqua. Potrebbero appassire. Ma, ben presto, me ne dimentico.
Ti sei gettato sulla tela, che trema fra le tue mani. Premi i colori dai tubetti e intingi i pennelli: rosso, bianco, nero, blu. E mi trascini nel torrente dei colori. Ad un tratto, mi sollevi da terra, e tu stesso prendi slancio con un piede, come se la stanzetta fosse troppo angusta per te. T’innalzi e ti distendi, fluttuando fino al soffitto. La tua testa gira intorno alla mia. Sfiori le mie orecchie sussurrando qualcosa…
Ascolto la melodia della tua voce dolce e grave. Perfino nei tuoi occhi intendo quel canto e tutti e due insieme, lentamente, ci solleviamo sulla camera adorna e prendiamo il volo. Arriviamo alla finestra e vogliamo attraversarla.
Fuori ci chiamano le nuvole e il cielo blu. I muri con tutti i miei scialli variopinti girano intorno a noi e ci fanno girare la testa. Ora voliamo abbracciati nel cielo e i campi di fiori, le case, i tetti, i cortili e le chiese sembrano galleggiare sotto di noi…
«Ti piace il mio quadro?». Ecco che torni improvvisamente sulla terra.
Guardi la tua tela, guardi me. Ti allontani dal cavalletto, ti riavvicini.
«C’è ancora molto da fare? Non potresti lasciarlo così? Dove puoi ancora ritoccarlo?». Parli con te stesso. Aspetti e hai paura di ciò che starò per dire.
«Oh! È bello. È bello il modo in cui hai preso il volo… Lo chiameremo Il Compleanno!».
Il tuo cuore si placa.
«Tornerai domani? Prenderò un’altra tela e ce ne voleremo via…». | Diario sentimentale, Bella Chagall
"Il Compleanno" o "L'Anniversario", è un dipinto realizzato nel 1915 da Marc Chagall e conservato nel Museum of Modern Art di New York.
L'opera fa parte della serie di dipinti che inneggiano l'amore dell'artista per la prima moglie, la Bella Rosenfeld Chagall.
E' il compleanno di Lei, ed in un momento di emozione e passione il marito Marc decide che i fiori che le ha appena regalato non sono sufficienti. E così, letteralmente 'salta' per baciarla, cogiendola in una meravigliosa sorpresa e la porta via.
Bella, nel suo libro Diario sentimentale, racconta che in quel preciso momento Chagall le chiese di fermarsi perché voleva ritrarla. L'immagine è caratterizzata dai due sposi sospesi nell'aria e l'artista che, per baciare la moglie, assume una angolazione impossibile. Chagall dipinge minuziosamente ogni cosa, ad indicare che quando è con la moglie Bella ogni cosa della realtà è perfetta e sembra che lei possa portargli la felicità.
L'opera fa parte della serie di dipinti che inneggiano l'amore dell'artista per la prima moglie, la Bella Rosenfeld Chagall.
E' il compleanno di Lei, ed in un momento di emozione e passione il marito Marc decide che i fiori che le ha appena regalato non sono sufficienti. E così, letteralmente 'salta' per baciarla, cogiendola in una meravigliosa sorpresa e la porta via.
Bella, nel suo libro Diario sentimentale, racconta che in quel preciso momento Chagall le chiese di fermarsi perché voleva ritrarla. L'immagine è caratterizzata dai due sposi sospesi nell'aria e l'artista che, per baciare la moglie, assume una angolazione impossibile. Chagall dipinge minuziosamente ogni cosa, ad indicare che quando è con la moglie Bella ogni cosa della realtà è perfetta e sembra che lei possa portargli la felicità.
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