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Painted just 8 months after the death of his beloved and much painted wife Bella the picture is that of a man tormented in his personal grief and the horrors and torments of the Holocaust.
Photo: Ben Uri Gallery
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LONDON (EJP)---An unprecedented amount of attention has been focused on the rediscovery of the 1945 Chagall painting “Apocalypse in Lilac; Capriccio” by the international arts media, especially in the UK.
David Glasser, the astute Director of the Ben Uri Museum, London's Museum for Jewish Art, found it in a Paris Catalogue earlier this year.
Chagall had painted a number of crucifixes in the past but this is unique in it's totally Jewish character.
Painted just 8 months after the death of his beloved and much painted wife Bella the picture is that of a man tormented in his personal grief and the horrors and torments of the Holocaust.
For that is what 'Apocalypse' illustrates in a unique and terrifyingly Jewish way.
This Christ figure is portrayed not crowned by a halo of thorns but by his phylacteries (tefillin ) which are wrapped around his left arm...his prayer shawl (tallit) hangs behind him..he is bearded.
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Ben Uri, The London Jewish Museum of Art kick-start their search for a new 20,000 sq ft building in the heart of Central London with an exhibition demonstrating the wealth and depth of the BU Collection, including the unveiling of a rare and unseen masterpiece by Marc Chagall.
Ben Uri was invited by Osborne Samuel to launch their 2010 exhibition programme at their gallery in Mayfair but the exhibition and catalogue had to change with the acquisition of this lost masterwork.
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The colours are muted and sad. The Virgin Mary is somewhere amongst the villagers.
As he looks down he sees the figure of a Nazi soldier gloating over the sufferings of villagers...one of whom is wearing the yellow star, others are enveloped in smoke, there is a lone baby and a Rabbi is trying to save a Torah.
The picture is not beautiful but heartbreaking and showing the depth of feeling for Chagall's origins which previously had been folkloric in perception.
This figurative painting places 'Apocalypse' at the very heart of Jewish Art and the Holocaust and is of major importance.
The exhibition 'Selected Works from the Ben Uri Gallery' is on display at Osborne Samuel, London W1 until January 31st.