Marc Chagall's The Walk in Minsk: One-piece exhibition opens at the National Art Museum of Belarus

An exhibition of a single masterpiece - Marc Chagall's painting The Walk from the State Russian Museumб Saint Petersburg opened at the National Art Museum of Belarus on 7 April. The opening ceremony took place as part of the Days of the Russian Museum, which will running from 8 to 10 April.

For the first time, Chagall’s works were presented in Minsk in 1997 at the exhibition Marc Chagall. Works of the Mediterranean Period. Gouaches, Watercolors, Lithographs. 1949-1985 from the collection of the artist's family. Following that, the museum successfully hosted Marc Chagall. Dedication to Paris (2000), Marc Chagall. Landscapes (2002), and Marc Chagall and the Stage (2004), organized by the artist's heirs, his granddaughters Bella and Meret Meyer.

“The exhibition aims not only to introduce Belarusian viewers to this renowned masterpiece from the artist’s early period. It will also continue the presentation of the master's creative heritage from Russian Federation museum collections in Belarus,” the museum stated.

The Walk (1917–1918) is one of Marc Chagall's most famous paintings, in which he depicted himself and his wife Bella in a moment of absolute happiness. The artist stands on the ground, holding his wife’s hand, while she soars in the sky. Flight symbolizes freedom and the sublime feeling of love that literally “lifts off the ground”. In his right hand, the man holds a bird - a metaphor for happiness that has already been caught (“a bird in the hand”), while the “crane” (Bella) soars in the heavens. The work was painted in Vitebsk and is part of a triptych alongside the canvases Over the Town and Double Portrait.

In an interview with BelTA, Irina Matyas, Director General of the National Art Museum of Belarus, highlighted the significance of Marc Chagall's The Walk and the artist's impact on Belarusian culture and contemporary artists from Belarus.

Marc Chagall is our brand. The Walk is one of his most beautiful works, one of the most beloved not only among admirers of the master’s talent. The National Art Museum has a cooperation agreement with the State Russian Museum. As part of this agreement, we will host the maiden Days of the Russian Museum. The Russian Museum will conduct workshops, masterclasses, and lectures. This is a large-scale project that has generated interest among museum professionals in Belarus. We are opening this project with a unique event: an exhibition of a single masterpiece - Marc Chagall’s The Walk. This painting will remain with us until July. The exhibition will comprise a series of lectures about Marc Chagall's art and this particular piece. The Walk is, without any doubt, the artist's most recognizable work, and it is about his love for Bella Rosenfeld. And love is flight born from the feeling of happiness.