The Promenade 《散步》

愛藝

During the winter of 1917-18， soon after painting the Vitebsk landscapes， Chagall created The Promenade （oil on canvas， 169.6 cm×163.4 cm）. It was painted in Vitebsk， and showed that exuberant zest for living which went hand in hand with the new phase of artistic accomplishment he had achieved. To that must be added the political atmosphere—the exhilarating sense of freedom and optimism generated by the October Revolution， which had just taken place. For the Jews the revolution meant true liberation; at last they were entitled to the same full rights as every other citizen of the state. Humiliations such as the young Chagall had experienced during his studies in St. Petersburg， where Jews were allowed to stay only with a special residential permit， were now out of the question. And， as an artist， Chagall belonged to the avant-garde， which had everything to gain from these revolutionary changes. In addition， there was the happiness with Bella to put a golden glow on life despite the many adverse circumstances of the outside world.

In The Promenade Bella in ecstatic jubilation flutters like a flag in the wind， held up in the sky on the arm of Chagall， who is laughing with joy and is dressed in his best clothes.

This ecstasy is in accord with the expansive decorative character of the picture. The dancing double figure extends over the plane like an ornamental emblem. The precious ornamentation of Bellas skirt pleats， as in a Futurist rendering of movement， greatly emphasizes the swinging effect of her floating figure. This ornamental stratification of form goes through the whole picture， arranging the meadow into a geometrical pattern， grouping the medley of cubic houses， reaching up into the sky in a variety of transparent geometrical forms， and culminating in the exuberantly patterned picnic cloth， which appears purely as a surface ornament. All Chagalls experiences gained from Cubism and Futurism—together with those from Henri Matisse—have clearly gone into the making of the picture， but they are used to bring about a closer description of reality.

The Promenade is currently exhibited at the State Russian Museum， St. Petersburg.

1917年至1918年的那個冬天，夏加爾先畫了幾幅維捷布斯克的風景畫，之后不久就創作了《散步》（布面油畫，169.6厘米×163.4厘米）。此畫創作于維捷布斯克，畫面滿溢生活的熱情，而夏加爾在藝術上所達到的新階段也與此息息相關。對此，還必須了解當時的政治氛圍——十月革命剛剛發生，帶來的自由和樂觀令人振奮。對猶太人來說，這場革命意味著真正的解放;他們終于平等享有了其他公民享有的全部權利。青年夏加爾在圣彼得堡學習期間所經歷的那種羞辱如今一去不返——那會兒的圣彼得堡，猶太人只有獲得特別居住證才能居留。作為畫家，夏加爾屬于先鋒派，可以從這些革命性變化中吸收種種有用的元素。此外，盡管外面的世界諸多艱難，但貝拉帶來的幸福快樂讓他們的生活散發出金色的光芒。

在《散步》中，欣喜若狂的貝拉像一面旗子在風中飄揚，夏加爾用自己的一只胳膊將她高高舉在空中。夏加爾開心大笑，身穿他最體面的衣服。

這種狂喜與此畫延展的裝飾性很相符。那一對起舞的情侶就像一個帶著某種象征的裝飾物跨越平面。貝拉裙子上刻意做出的褶皺，就像未來主義對運動物體的描繪，極大突出了她飄浮的身體擺動的效果。這種裝飾性分層貫穿整幅畫：草地排列成一個幾何圖形，形式多樣的立方體房屋組合在一起，各種透明的幾何形狀伸向天空，最突出的就是那塊圖案繽紛的印花野餐布。夏加爾得自立體主義和未來主義的所有經驗——包括從亨利·馬蒂斯那里吸取的——在這幅畫中表現得淋漓盡致，只是這些經驗被用來更真實地描述現實。

《散步》現藏于俄羅斯圣彼得堡的俄羅斯國家博物館。? ?□