White Crucifixion Presentation by Emeka Anyanwu Art of The Day Art Work by Marc Chagall

Background Information The White Crucifixion was painted in the 1938 by Marc Chagall in Paris, France. Chagall, a religious and imaginative painter, illustrated the painting in response to the suffering of the jews throughout Europe.

Character Jesus is the main figure. Portrayed as a poor human being, not a savior. In the center because he sees all. Can’t stop suffering of the people.

Color Darkness symbolizes impending doom. Red= destruction Flame represent Night of Broken Glass. Bright colors only help identify. Red war shields identify Russia.

Light Light coming from above, onto Jesus,burning business, and a man walking with a bag in his hand. White= sadness and sorrow Light from the scroll = the same idea as people on the boat: attempting to escape fate. Left in the darkness are the evil deeds of Nazi’s.

Angle Image viewed from a head on perspective. Jesus is in the center, seen from the front. See most of the other subject from the side.

Proportio n Jesus is most dominant subject. The synagogues, the buildings, the Russian army and flying maiden are all proportionally small.

Placement ladder= abandonment Nazis during Holocaust forgot the message God is trying to preach, tolerance.

Setting Painted after “Night of Broken Glass.” Took place during Holocaust.

CClAPPS Character: In this piece, there are numerous ideas and symbols that are being displayed through this image about Jewish suffering and although there are many things going on, it is clear that the main concept in this photo is Jesus being crucified on the cross. In Christianity, Jesus is often depicted and seen as a god above men, the savior, but in this picture Chagall depicts him as a helpless human being. He has no clothes and his body is bruised and battered. Even With his hands and feet hammered to the holy cross, he has no power to stop the suffering and chaos around him that is the Nazi’s torturing the Jewish people and he therefore suffers also. So Jesus in the painting represents the suffering of Jews. Colors: In many of Chagall’s pieces, he likes to use vibrant, bright and vivid colors to better emphasize his message, but in White Crucifixion, there is a major absence of colors in the image. He uses numerous subtle shades of dark colors, in order to give that presence of impending doom and puts flames of fire into the image, representing destruction. Chagall uses red as destruction when he paints The Nazi’s burning of businesses and homes during the Night of Broken Glass and a red Russian Army preparing to Attack and persecute Jewish people. Light: Much of the image is filled with white glow of light coming from above and spreading down the middle of the painting where Jesus and Jewish houses are located, and the white symbolizes sorrow and utter sadness. This is the sadness of Jesus and God, watching from above, as they witness the violence across Europe between the Nazi’s and the Jews, human beings killing human beings, brothers killing brothers. This is also the sadness of the Jews as they watch everything they love and perish become destroyed as they must also fight for their lives. Also, there is a source of light coming from the scroll, which symbolizes fate and a new beginning. In a way that, many Jewish people are attempting to flee and escape capture by leaving and trying to find a new home. This same idea is seen in the people on the boat.What is left in the darkness in the painting is the evil deeds that took place during World War II. In the top right hand corner you see the dark smoke coming from the burning of the synagogues and a man with a red face, trying to save items in the building.

CClAPPS A ngle: The overall image when viewed from a spectator is a head on, straightforward view, but not all the subjects in the photos are viewed from the same angle. Jesus is observed directly from the front, but many of the other subject are viewed from the side. Chagall does this to show how many people are watching the suffering of the jews are going through and not doing anything to stop it. Nothing is really hidden from view, besides in the left bottom corner of the image, part of the man’s body is hidden from view. Proportion: Jesus is proportionally larger than every other subject in the image. This reiterates the fact that he is the dominant and central figure of the image. Also, you notice that things such as the Russian army, and burning of synagogue are relatively small, because many people back then saw these issues as trivial and unimportant. Placement: In this painting there isn’t much order, but if you look closely toward Jesus you can see a ladder hanging next to the right side of his body. This latter symbolizes abandonment. This symbolizes how they abandoned Jesus, but more importantly how people have abandoned god and faith. In having hatred for one another people have forgotten how God wanted all people to treat each other with respect. Setting: This image was painted after “The Night of Broken Glass” during the Holocaust. So many of the subjects in this painting relate to World War II.

So What? The message Chagall is trying to explain through White Crucifixion, is that no matter if you’re Christian, Jewish, or even Muslim, the fact is, we all believe in one god and you have to respect and understand someone else’s beliefs even if you don’t agree with them. Hitler used propaganda to convince the German people that the Jews were the main cause for many of the financial issues that happened in Germany after World War I and was able to start a genocide. Just because you don’t agree with someone's ideas, doesn’t mean you have the right to attack the person and their ideals. Chagall is trying to ignite a call to action to stop the mistreatment of Jews in a way that creatively communicates to people. Even with all the violence that has happened, Chagall attempts to communicate that there is still hope. A menorah still lit under Jesus’ body in the picture after all that has happened and it is evident that even after all these decades, the idea of tolerance is still being taught today.

tionzexv5.com