《白色十字架》

愛藝

White Crucifixion （oil on canvas， 154.6 cm×140 cm， 1938） represents a critical turning point for the artist Marc Chagall： It was the first of an important series of compositions that feature the image of Christ as a Jewish martyr and dramatically call attention to the persecution and suffering of European Jews in the 1930s.

The painting shows the suffering of Jews and Jesus. Violent conflicts are depicted such as the setting on fire of synagogues1. In the center of the picture Jesus is displayed， crucified and symbolized as being Jewish adorned in a prayer shawl.

White Crucifixion revealed nostalgia for 14th-century Italian art， and displayed an authentic coloristic value. This painting has thematic ties to Renaissance religious painting， especially the works by Michelangelo， but it also carries references to The Raising of the Cross by Rembrandt.

In White Crucifixion， his first and largest work on the subject， Chagall stressed the Jewish identity of Jesus in several ways： he replaced his traditional loincloth with a prayer shawl， his crown of thorns with a headcloth， and the mourning angels that customarily surround him with three biblical patriarchs and a matriarch， clad in traditional Jewish garments.

At either side of the cross， Chagall illustrated the devastation of pogroms2： On the left， a village is pillaged and burned， forcing refugees to flee by boat and the three bearded figures below them—one of whom clutches the Torah3—to escape on foot. On the right， a synagogue and its Torah ark go up in flames， while below a mother comforts her child. By linking the martyred Jesus with the persecuted Jews and the Crucifixion with contemporary events， Chagalls painting passionately identifies the Nazis with Christs tormentors and warns of the moral implications of their actions.

Together with Pablo Picassos Guernica， the White Crucifixion is one of the most eloquent condemnations of war and hatred of the 20th century.

The original painting is currently being exhibited in the Art Institute of Chicago.

對馬克·夏加爾來說，《白色十字架》（布面油畫，154.6厘米×140厘米，1938年）是其繪畫生涯的重要轉折點：夏加爾創作過一組重要的系列畫，畫中將基督呈現為猶太殉道者，極大喚起了人們對1930年代歐洲猶太人遭受迫害和苦難的關注，此畫是該系列的第一幅作品。

此畫展示了猶太人和耶穌經歷的苦難。畫中描繪了暴力沖突的場景，比如猶太會堂被縱火。畫面中央，耶穌圍著一塊祈禱披巾，象征猶太人被釘在十字架上。

《白色十字架》是對14世紀意大利繪畫藝術的緬懷，同時也展示出色彩真正的價值。此畫在主題上與文藝復興時期的宗教畫尤其是米開朗基羅的作品密切相關，但還參考了倫勃朗的《高舉十字架》。

《白色十字架》是夏加爾就這一題材創作的第一幅也是最大的一幅畫。在畫中，他通過幾個細節強調了耶穌的猶太身份：用祈禱披巾取代了傳統的纏腰布，用包頭巾取代了荊棘冠，用身著猶太傳統服裝的三位圣經男族長和一位女族長取代了慣常圍繞耶穌身邊的若干哀悼天使。

在十字架的兩側，夏加爾描繪了大屠殺造成的破壞：左側，一個村莊遭到洗劫和焚燒，難民被迫乘船出逃，他們下方有三個留著胡須的人正徒步逃離，其中一個緊緊抱著《律法書》;右側，一座猶太會堂及其收藏律法書的約柜陷入火海，下方有一位母親正在安慰她的孩子。夏加爾在畫中將殉道的耶穌與遭迫害的猶太人相關聯，將耶穌受難與當代世事相關聯，由此把納粹等同于折磨基督之人，并提醒人們注意這些人種種行為的道德意蘊——整幅畫情感濃烈。

與巴勃羅·畢加索的《格爾尼卡》一樣，夏加爾的這幅 《白色十字架》也是對20世紀戰爭和仇恨最有力的一份譴責。

原畫現展于美國芝加哥藝術學院。