“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering... these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love... these are what we stay alive for.”
N.H. Kleinbaum - Dead Poets Society, 1989.
Marc Chagall - The Betrothed and the Eiffel Tower, 1913.
I don’t speak Yiddish, my grandparents (probably quite like yours) successfully kept it as their own secret language.
However, those who know Yiddish and the beauty of it, reflected in its sayings and proverbs, can “read” Marc Chagall’s paintings like a book.
Let’s take a look:
- "Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers" – Seven fingers: In Yiddish, to work with seven fingers means to work quickly and also be like G-d who created the world in seven days.
- "Birth" – Have you noticed a man standing on his arms at the back of the painting? There’s a Yiddish saying: “When there’s disorder, fuss, and balagan, the world turns upside down and stands on its head.”
- "Spoonful of Milk" – One of Chagall’s grandfathers was a melamed, a teacher for Jewish boys. He didn’t make much money, like most melameds, but worked from dawn to dusk, and his wife had to take good care of him. There’s a Yiddish saying for this as well: “She brings a spoon to his mouth.”
These are just a few examples of what an attentive observer can find in Marc Chagall’s paintings. I am going to share more this Monday during the online conversation, "Jewish Artists Who Shook the World." - https://jt-club.com/parisian_school.
Facebook post by Evgenia Kempinski
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