Do Chagalls Depictions of David Reflect His Intense Religiosity - Essay Example

Do Chagall's depictions of David reflect his intense religiosity For several decades, attempts to depict the relationship between God and man have already existed. However, portraying divinity in relation to man has always been a challenge as different religions have chosen to depict God in several ways. Still, one of the most significant and recognized texts trying to portray the connection between God and man is the character of David in the Jewish Bible. On the other hand, this relationship is also often represented in visual arts. In this field, the most prominent artist who has represented Biblical characters in his paintings while trying to interpret the connections of these characters to God is Marc Chagall (Friedman, 1984, p.375). Interestingly, David is one of the Biblical characters who are often depicted in Chagall's paintings. Throughout his works, Chagall was able to incorporate David's stories, as stated in the Jewish Bible, with his own interpretation of David. Chagall's understanding of David, which is influenced by his intense religiosity according to Friedman (1984, p.376), is shown by comparing the implications of his paintings to the Hebrew scripts. Hence, Chagall's depictions of David in his paintings, which is a juxtaposition of his own interpretation and David's stories in the Bible, reflect his own intense religiosity. Marc Chagall is an artist famous for his etchings which reflect interpretations of Biblical stories. He admitted the his viewing of the Bible was less as a religious text and more as an interpretation of the nature of humans and the divinity inherent in them as well as their flaws (Amishai-Meisels, 1996, p. 72). Also, he confessed that his artworks represent his effort in transmitting to canvas the echo of nature portrayed by the Bible. Hence, he chose to focus on the love the Bible tries to foster, rather than on the punitive aspect of it. The aim is to strive for that perfect love, forgiveness and mercy, without letting the retribution to be the focus of the stories. This view of Chagall can be traced to his religious background. According to Amishai-Meisels (1996), Chagall grew up in a Jewish community but later on settled in a Christian environment. Therefore, his cultural background, including his artistic taste, is influenced by the Jewish tradition. This is evident in his approach to his artworks, where he uses abstractive figures supporting a central subject. This type of painting originated from Jews (Saltman, 1981, p.44). However, the way he views the Bible is influenced by his Christian background. This can be seen in the implications of his paintings depicting stories of David, among other Biblical stories, which focuses on the themes of love and forgiveness while ignoring the themes of punishment and discipline. In this regard, the Christian influence is clear. Although the Jewish Bible is the same as the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, the emphasis on the Christian Bible represented by the New Testament is on love and forgiveness, which is amply demonstrated through Chagall's work. Chagall's painting "David and Bathsheba" depicts the affair which was shared by David and Bathsheba. The painting itself covers David's lust for a married woman named Bathsheba and this woman's conception of their child. In the Bible, the affair started when David sends for her and " she came to him, and he lay with her The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, 'I am pregnant'" (Holy Bible, 2 Samuel 11:4-5). Knowing that his act of adultery was sinful, he initially tries to cover it up by sending for her husband Uriah on the excuse of wanting news of the battle and then sending him home so that he may sleep with his wife and, therefore, claim the child as his own. When that fails, he engineers Uriah's death in order to marry Bathsheba. In doing so, he has fallen short of every standard set by God, and later God punishes him by refusing to cure the child conceived by Bathsheba, allowing it to die. The central subject of the painting "David and Bathsheba" is the union of the faces of the two characters. David's half-face, represented on the left side of the painting, shows expressions of shock and confusion. Meanwhile, Bathsheba's half-face on the right side of the painting, displays fear and worry. The union of their faces represents the union which was committed as a sin. Hence, Chagall put into canvas David and Bathsheba's union or act of making love by uniting their faces. At the top of the union of their faces is a woman giving birth. Hence, this refers to Bathsheba. While giving birth, a flying angel is waiting for the child to come out. This represents the death of David and Bathsheba's child which will be taken away from them by an angel to the heaven. Furthermore, although the etchings at the background of the painting represent unclear figures, some of the images can be described as a house and an angel. The house may be referring to David's castle, on which David and Bathsheba's sin was committed. The angel represents a divine entity watching David and Bathsheba's union. Additionally, the unclear etchings represent confusion in the minds of David and Bathsheba while they were making love. This is because unclear etchings at the background of a painting or any visual art represent disarray (Heath, 1969, p.232). It is apparent that the unclear etchings were placed on David's side which depicts several elements which are happening on David's life as a king. The predominance of red is interesting. Red, the color of blood, is vital and vigorous. It may represent the blood of Uriah that is on David's hands or the strength of his passion for Bathsheba. The pregnant Bathsheba is painted in blue, hovering over David's brow. Perhaps, this is an indication of her impression on his thoughts and mind. Overall, Chagall's "David and Bathsheba" seems to concentrate on man's weakness which is represented by the human nature of David as portrayed in the Jewish Bible. In the Hebrew scripture, God is constantly calling man to greatness and asking for their love and loyalty (Greenspoon, 1999, p.38). The human weakness in David's nature is represented by his unlawful lust for Bathsheba, another man's wife. The uniting faces of David and Bathsheba, which is the central subject of the painting, is surrounded by other elements. Hence, the approach Chagall used in this painting is originally Jewish. Apparently, this is because Chagall was raised in a Jewish community, which is prominent for their preservation of their artistic culture. Meanwhile, the angel flying across waiting for Bathsheba to give birth to her son is the only overt symbol of a divine entity in this. The wrath of God does not seem evident here. Other than the clue of the angel's plan to take David and Bathsheba's son away, there are no other clues of the punishment that awaits David and Bathsheba. The image of the angel is not threatening in any way. The influence of Christianity on Chagall's own religiosity seems to be clear here as although Chagall attempted to cover the whole story of David and Bathsheba's affair, the immensity of David's sin was not clearly emphasized. God's acceptance of this sin was not portrayed intensively. This is in accordance to the Christian perspective which depicts God as a more forgiving and lenient figure, a wellspring of love and forgiveness (Heller, 2001, p.173). The influence of Christianity on Chagall's own religiosity seems to be clear here. Another Chagall's painting which is "David Mourning Absalom" depicts the nature of David as a forgiving father. It shows how David accepted his son Absalom's repentance for his sin of killing his half-brother. David, despite the magnitude of the sin, forgives him and welcomes him home. The painting shows a picture of David kissing Absalom, who faced the ground before the king asking for his forgiveness. Likewise, in the Jewish Bible, David summoned Absalon. Hence, Absalom came to the king and humbly presented himself while asking forgiveness, which was accepted by the king with a kiss (Holy Bible, 2 Samuel 14:33). Initially, the painting may seem to be a simple depiction of David's acceptance of Absalom. However, it is apparent that many other elements are present in the painting. The central subject of the painting is David and Absalom. The background of the subject is a church represented by an establishment with a cross. At the back of the church is an image of a sun. Although it is unclear whether the sun is rising or due to set, it represents enlightenment, provoked by Absalom's repentance of his sins and David's acceptance of his son. The painting used the of the three-strata method of picturing which incorporates the Jewish approach of concentrating on a central image. However, in this method, the supporting elements in the painting were cluttered in two other layers, with a central subject serving as the one of the layers (Cohen, 1963, p.251). The image of David accepting Absalom serves as the first layer and the central subject; the church serves as the second stratum; the sun serves as the third layer. According to Cohen (p.255), the three-strata method is adopted by painters to show a cause-and-effect sequence in the central subject. If a layer precedes the layer of the central subject, this layer refers to the event which triggers to the occurrence of the central subject. Likewise, if a layer comes after the central subject, this layer is described as the consequences or effects of the event portrayed by the central subject. Thus, in this painting, the event represented by the central subject is David's forgiveness of Absalom. The effect of this is represented by the church, which depicts closeness to God. Hence, David's forgiveness, as a result, makes him closer to God as he qualifies God's standards. In effect, David's closer relationship to God triggered by his forgiveness of Absalom brings him to enlightenment, represented by the sun. In the context of God's relationship to man, God is represented in this painting by David while man and his weaknesses is represented by Absalom and his sin. The portrayal of David in this painting is very similar to the depiction of God's constant forgiveness of man's folly and weakness. The representation of the divine in the human form of David is very clear. The relationship between David as the father and Absalom as the son is equated to the relationship between God and man. Similarly, the image of church in the painting represents the improved divine connection man can adapt if he emulates God. For instance, if man strives to forgive those who sins against him just as God forgives man's weaknesses, he will have better connection to God. Therefore, a better relationship with God means enlightenment of man's soul, represented by the sun at the background of the painting. This enlightenment can also be interpreted as the correction of man's path. The fact that Chagall has chosen to represent this particular scene from the story, despite Absalom's imminent betrayal of his father, is very revealing about Chagall's interpretation and religious beliefs. The constant forgiveness of God and man alike is a theme in both Jewish and Christian Bibles. However, in Jewish Bible, the premise of forgiveness is more inclined towards God's nature and man's adaptation of this character is due to his attempt to emulate God. On the other hand, the Christian Bible, with the existence of the New Testament wherein Jesus represents the divine being in a mortal body, gives more justification on the principle that we all have divine attributes (Greenspoon, 1999, p.109). In Chagall's painting, though David is flawed and human, he also has divine attributes in this etching - mercy, forgiveness and love. Even after Absalom has betrayed his father and led a rebellion against him, David's reaction to the rumor that he has been killed is one of sheer grief (Holy Bible, 2 Samuel 19:1-4). The similarity between this image of David and the more modern image of God as a forgiving loving father is clearly shown. Despite the very strong Jewish element in Chagall's choice of subject material, his outlook on the stories is clearly a little different as seen from the angle at which he chose to depict the story. Though even in the Jewish Bible, God forgives David after his adultery and makes him even more powerful, the emphasis throughout the Bible is the retribution for one's sins. Although in the Jewish Bible, Absalom was still punished by being put to exile, "David Mourning Absalom" emphasizes the divine nature which is present in man represented by David. Perhaps it is also a reflection that even though one is flawed by his actions, one is not irredeemable or that flaws do not necessarily mean that divinity is unreachable. "David with his Harp" is another etching of Marc Chagall which depicts the nature of David. This shows an image of King David playing his harp while looking down. As compared to the two other works of art cited earlier, this painting does not clearly specify a Biblical story. However, it symbolizes many elements in the Jewish Bible. Hence, it can be interpreted in manifold ways. The harp symbolizes David's personal history as his skills in playing harp were developed during his spare time as a shepherd. Also, David started working for King Saul as a harp player. Hence, the painting is a depiction of David's humbleness despite his royal position. In the painting, although David plays harp, it cannot be interpreted as a manifestation of David's beginnings as a musician. This is because the painting shows David wearing a crown, a symbol of royal position. This signifies that he is already a king during the setting of the event depicted in the painting. Even though he is no longer a musician but of the highest position in the castle, David still plays the harp. Another element which strengthens this representation is David's act of looking down, which symbolizes earthiness. The colors mainly used in this painting are violet and red. The combination of these colors represents grandeur and royalty (Wahl, 1957, p.48). Chagall effectively used these colors to create a tremendous impact of David's humbleness to his royalty. While the colors used and the crown signify wealth and majesty, David's act of looking down and his harp in the context of his beginnings indicate humbleness. Thus, the main theme of this painting is man's earthiness. David represents mankind and his harp represents the stepping stones man may have gained benefits from. The painting implies that despite the wealth and prominence man may accomplish, looking down to his beginnings will not decrease his prominence. Although in this painting, the Jewish approach of placing different elements surrounding a particular central subject is not adapted since there is only one major theme which is the central subject, the choice of the subject material and elements used in the subject are primarily Jewish. The use of colors to emphasize contrast originated from the Jewish tradition of using colors in their etchings to compare contrasting subjects (Leveen, 1974, p.84). Nonetheless, despite the use of Jewish culture of using colors to provide extremities in contrasting subjects, the Christian influence on Chagall's view of David's nature is prominent. In the Jewish Bible, the emphasis on God as a Supreme Being is evident. Likewise, in Jewish tradition, hierarchy is valued. Hence, the theme of this painting reflecting Chagall's understanding of David is more inclined towards the Christian belief of humbleness. This is because in the Christian Bible, humbleness or earthiness is one of the most significant values highlighted (Gutmann, 1971, p.76-77). By and large, the three paintings depict stories and themes based on the Jewish Bible. The approach to the creation of the works of art of Chagall also adopted the Jewish artistic culture. This includes the adaptation of different Jewish methods such as the use of a central subject with different elements supporting the subject, using color to compare contrasting elements. Hence, Chagall's intrinsic taste has indeed been influenced by his Jewish upbringing. However, his religious belief, based on the interpretation of his three works included in this paper, is more inclined to his Christian background. According to Kuh in his article "Marc Chagall", Chagall's Jewish background and Christian adulthood justifies his works--- "Jewishly done, Christianly interpreted" (1946, p.87). I agree to Kuh as it is clearly shown in Chagall's works that his interpretation of man as a being with inherent divine characteristics and God as a loving Creator establishes rationalization of the Christian environment he was surrounded when he grew up, coming from a Jewish background. Hence, although Chagall's religiosity and upbringing may come from contrasting perspectives of Jews and Christians, his paintings indisputably reflect his own religiosity and his upbringing. Additionally, as there is a conflict between modernity and the religious tradition of Chagall's upbringing, this is clearly shown in his works. The religious tradition of his upbringing refers to Chagall's Jewish background. On the other hand, modernity, in this context, refers to the Christian community Chagall later lived with. These two factors affected Chagall's works. However, the conflict was dominated by prevailing elements of each factor. From his religious Jewish upbringing, Chagall was able to maintain his Jewish artistic taste and incorporate it in his works. However, from modernity prevailed by Christianity, Chagall adapted the Christian beliefs he was able to embrace during his adulthood. Hence, Chagall's paintings, which often lies on the theme of man's weaknesses and God's forgiveness strongly manifests his own conflict between modernity and the religious tradition of his upbringing. In the context of Chagall's portrayal of David, he was also able to show the dominant factors of his Christian and Jewish background. As David is a prominent character of the Jewish Bible, the objective depiction of David in Chagall's paintings came from his Jewish upbringing. The objective depiction of David refers to his character as a creation of God. Nonetheless, the subjective portrayal of David in Chagall's works is chiefly based on his Christian influences. Hence, the divine characteristics present in David, which is also implied as being present in mankind, is solely based on David's interpretation mainly influenced by Christianity. Although Chagall basically followed the Jewish foundation in capturing the events portrayed in his paintings, his interpretation has not necessarily followed Jewish views on David. Therefore to summarize, Chagall's depiction of David, regardless of the way he created his works or his artistic taste, reflects his own religiosity, which may be considered intense in the sense that he attempted to differ from the basic Jewish perspective on David's character in the Bible. David and Bathsheba David Mourning Absalom David with his Harp BIBLIOGRAPHY Amishai-Meisels, Z. "Chagall's 'Dedicated to Christ: sources and meanings", Jewish Art, (1995-96), 21-2, pp. 69-94. Cohen, L., The Hebrew Bible in Christian, Jewish and Muslim Art (New York: Jewish Museum, 1963). Catalogue of exhibition. Friedman, Mira. "Marc Chagall's Portrayal of the Prophet Jeremiah." Zeitschrift fr Kunstgeschichte 47. (1984): 374-391. The Holy Bible. Biography. Retrieved from: http://www.marcchagallprints.com/view_article.phparticle_id=26&sort_by= Greenspoon, L. J., Sacred Text, Secular Times: the Hebrew Bible in the Modern World (Omaha: Creighton University Press, 1999). Gutmann, Joseph (ed.), No Graven Images: Studies in Art and the Hebrew Bible (New York: Ktav, 1971). Heath, Reece, Interpreting Visual Arts (London: Familton Press, 1969). Heller, Jan, Shemeryahu Talman, and Hana Hlavackova (eds.), The Old Testament as Inspiration for Culture (Trebernice: Mlyn, 2001). International Academic Symposium on Bible and Culture, Prague, Sept. 1995. Kuh, Katharine. "Marc Chagall." Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago Vol. 40, No. 7. (Dec., 1946): 85-92. Leveen, Jacob, The Hebrew Bible in Art (The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 1939;London: British Academy, 1944 and NY: Hermon Press, 1974). Saltman, E.S., 'The Forbidden Image in Jewish Art', Jewish Art 8 (1981), pp. 42-53. Wahl, J. "Illustrations for the Bible by Marc Chagall." 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