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‘Looks like an ordinary old man.’ What is the true secret of Chagall’s popularity?
Marc Chagall. An archive photo
MINSK, 5 January (BelTA) – In a new episode of the On Point. The Nation’s Pride project on BelTA’s YouTube channel, guide Sofiya Macharashvili shared her perspective on what made Marc Chagall so popular.
Reflecting on Marc Chagall’s difficult path, Sofiya Macharashvili noted that the artist’s personal and creative formation occurred largely in his childhood and youth. “Then, of course, his life continued to unfold in his adult years. There was the moment he moved his family from St. Petersburg to Paris. He understood it was necessary. Then a completely different era arrived, and he realized they would certainly have to leave Paris for Russia. He understood this and told Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya about it. Age plays absolutely no role here. Just imagine being born into a family of nine children, living a life of near-starvation, with parents who are semi-educated or even poorly educated, yet no one would dare to judge them,” she said. “Jewish families are rich in tradition, and I believe Marc never truly strayed from his, even as he embraced various cities, countries, and people.”
The guide highlighted that the outstanding Belarusian and Jewish painter, teacher, and key figure of the Jewish Renaissance of the early 20th-century, Yudel Pen, gave the world a portrait of Marc Chagall: “He had his height, his not-so-striking looks… but when his teacher, Yudel Pen, painted him, the result was a delight. That portrait hangs in our Yudel Pen Art Museum and it captures the very essence of Chagall as Pen saw him: the artist, the founder of the Vitebsk school. That portrait of Chagall is Yudel Pen’s enduring gift to us.”
When asked about the secret to Chagall’s immense popularity, Sofiya Macharashvili replied: “All books say the same thing: freedom, love. He was a free man. He knew how to love.” She also quoted literary critic and publicist Adam Maldis’ description of Chagall: “An artist who placed Vitebsk on the world’s art map.”
“He looks like a simple old man. But in reality, he is a giant. For Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya it was unthinkable to refuse to pose. She would pose for as long as he asked,” the guide added. “They were very close. And in her book, she writes, ‘I love you very much, Marc Zakharovich.’”
Sofiya Macharashvili also spoke of the atmosphere in the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk: “It is just like a dollhouse, so charming, small, and wonderfully cozy. Inside, you truly feel at home, as though you’re part of a family, sensing the presence of his father, mother, himself, and the children. You can feel it there, in those very rooms. That’s exactly what happened to me.”
In closing, the guide remarked that Belarusians take great pride in Marc Chagall having been born in Belarus. “An individual’s fame is the prestige of the entire nation,” she said.
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