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The White Crucifixion
Fiction. Art. Jewish Studies. THE WHITE CRUCIFIXION starts with Chagall's difficult birth in Vitebsk 1887, in the present-day Belarus, and tells the unlikely story of how the eldest son of a herring schlepper became enrolled in art school where he quickly gained a reputation as "Moyshe, the painting wonder."
The novel paints an authentic picture of a Russian town divided by belief and wealth, rumours of pogroms never far away, yet bustling with talented young artists.
In 1913, Chagall relished the opportunity to move to Paris to take up residence in the artist colony The Hive (La Ruche). The Yiddish-speaking artists (Ecole Juive) living there were all poor. The Hive had no electric light, or running water and yet many of its artists were to become famous, among them Amedeo Modigliani and Osip Zadkine.
The novel vividly portrays the dynamics of an artist colony, its pettiness, friendships and the constant battle to find the peace and quiet to work.
In 1914 Chagall and Bella make what's supposed to be a fleeting visit to his beloved Vitebsk, only to get trapped there by the outbreak of the first world war, the subsequent Russian revolution, and the establishment of the communist regime which is increasingly hostile towards artists like Chagall.
Yet, Chagall keeps on painting, and the novel provides a fascinating account of what inspired some of his greatest painting. He manages to return to France and is reunited with his paintings only to be thwarted by yet another world war which proves disastrous for the people he knew in Vitebsk which include his uncle Neuch, the original "Fiddler On The Roof."
THE WHITE CRUCIFIXION is a fictionalised account of the rollercoaster life of one of the most enigmatic artists of the twentieth century.
The novel paints an authentic picture of a Russian town divided by belief and wealth, rumours of pogroms never far away, yet bustling with talented young artists.
In 1913, Chagall relished the opportunity to move to Paris to take up residence in the artist colony The Hive (La Ruche). The Yiddish-speaking artists (Ecole Juive) living there were all poor. The Hive had no electric light, or running water and yet many of its artists were to become famous, among them Amedeo Modigliani and Osip Zadkine.
The novel vividly portrays the dynamics of an artist colony, its pettiness, friendships and the constant battle to find the peace and quiet to work.
In 1914 Chagall and Bella make what's supposed to be a fleeting visit to his beloved Vitebsk, only to get trapped there by the outbreak of the first world war, the subsequent Russian revolution, and the establishment of the communist regime which is increasingly hostile towards artists like Chagall.
Yet, Chagall keeps on painting, and the novel provides a fascinating account of what inspired some of his greatest painting. He manages to return to France and is reunited with his paintings only to be thwarted by yet another world war which proves disastrous for the people he knew in Vitebsk which include his uncle Neuch, the original "Fiddler On The Roof."
THE WHITE CRUCIFIXION is a fictionalised account of the rollercoaster life of one of the most enigmatic artists of the twentieth century.
243 pages, Paperback
Published February 22, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 2, 2018
Not a full fictional autobiography of Chagall but one which concentrates upon two key periods in his life - his early painting career in Paris before the First World War and his return to his hometown Vitebsk where he struggles to survive during the early years after the Russian revolution. What is most interesting and powerful in this novel is the way the author reflects on Chagall’s life through his paintings. It is almost impossible to read this without looking at the paintings.
The two central locations in the book - Paris and Vitebsk - are also vividly depicted, again through the paintings and the cast of characters, particularly his fellow jewish painters Modigliani and Soutine.
I was preparing to be disappointed by so much of his life being crammed into the final short section of the book, in particular his experiences of and reactions to the Holocaust but the author’s simple, stark accounts of the murders of many of Chagall’s friends and neighbours from Vitebsk are very moving. Not least in the way the Nazi murderers are portrayed - perfect examples of the banality of evil.
The two central locations in the book - Paris and Vitebsk - are also vividly depicted, again through the paintings and the cast of characters, particularly his fellow jewish painters Modigliani and Soutine.
I was preparing to be disappointed by so much of his life being crammed into the final short section of the book, in particular his experiences of and reactions to the Holocaust but the author’s simple, stark accounts of the murders of many of Chagall’s friends and neighbours from Vitebsk are very moving. Not least in the way the Nazi murderers are portrayed - perfect examples of the banality of evil.
July 2, 2018
I received an ARC copy of this novel from the publisher, and I freely chose to review it.
Although I am not sure I would say I’m a big fan of Chagall's paintings, I’ve always been intrigued by them and drawn to them, even when I didn’t know much about the author or what was behind them. I’ve seen several exhibitions of his work and have also visited the wonderful Chagall National Museum in Nice, France (I recommend it to anybody wishing to learn more about the painter and his works, particularly those with a religious focus). When I was offered the opportunity to read this novel, written by an author with a particular affinity for the art-world, it was an opportunity too good to miss.
The book is not a full biography. It follows Marc Chagall (born Moyshe Shagal) from his birth in the pre-revolutionary Russian town of Vitebsk (now in Belarus) until he paints the White Crucifixion of the title. We accompany Chagall through his childhood (hard and difficult conditions, but not for lack of affection or care), his early studies and his interactions with his peers (many of whom became well-known artists in their own right), his love story with Bella (fraught as it was at times), his first stay in Paris, in the Hive (a fabulous-sounding place, and a glorious and chaotic Petri dish where many great artists, especially from Jewish origin, lived and created), his return to Russia and his encounter with the Russian revolution (full of hopes and ideals for a better future at first, hopes and ideals that are soon trashed by the brutality of the new regime), and finally his escape and return to France.
Throughout it all, we learn about his passion for painting, his creative self-assurance and fascination for Jewish life and traditions, his peculiar creative methods and routine (he wears makeup to paint and prefers to paint at night), his visitations by the prophet Elijah and how that is reflected in his paintings, his pettiness and jealousy (he is forever suspicious of other pupils and fellow painters, of his wife and her friends), and how he can be truly oblivious to practical matters and always depends on others to manage the everyday details of life (like food, money, etc.). He is surrounded by tragedy and disaster (from the death of his young sister to the many deaths caused by the destruction of Vitebsk at the hands of the revolutionaries) although he is lucky in comparison to many of his contemporaries, and lived to a very ripe old age.
The book is a fictionalization of the early years of Marc Chagall’s life (with a very brief mention of his end), but it is backed up by a good deal of research that is seamlessly threaded into the story. We read about the art movements of the time and Chagall’s opinion of them, about other famous painters (I love the portrayal of Modigliani, a favourite among all his peers), about the historical events of the time, all from a unique perspective, that of the self-absorbed Chagall. He is not a particularly sympathetic character. Despite his protestations of love, he is more interested in painting than in his wife and daughter, although he states that he feels guilty for some of the tragedies that happen to those around him, he pays little heed to them all and does not change his selfish behaviour, and he is far from modest (he feels he has nothing to learn from anybody, is clearly superior to most, if not all, his colleagues and he often talks about how attractive he is). He is unashamed and unapologetic, as he would have to be to succeed in the circumstances he had to live through. But, no matter what we might feel about the man, the book excels at explaining the genesis of some of his best-known early paintings, and all readers will leave with a better understanding of the man and his art.
The writing combines the first person narrative with the historical detail and loving descriptions of places and people, giving Chagall a unique and distinctive voice and turning him into a real person, with defects and qualities, with his pettiness and his peculiar sense of humour. Although we might not like him or fully understand him, we get to walk in his shoes and to share in his sense of wonder and in his urgency to create.
I wanted to share some quotations from the book, so you can get some sense of the style and decide if it suits your taste:
When I work, I feel as if my father and my mother are peering over my shoulder — and behind them Jews, millions of vanished Jews of yesterday and a thousand years ago. They are all in my paintings.
Here he talks about Modigliani and one of his lovers, Beatrice Hastings:
They had some of the most erudite fights in Paris. They used to fight in verse. He would yell Dante at her. She would scream back Dante Gabriel Rossetti or Milton, who Modi especially detested.
Modi once said ‘The human face is the supreme creation of nature. Paint it and you paint life.’
All my life I have blamed myself for whatever it was I was doing, but all my life I have gone on doing it.
So much for the revolution freeing the Jews from oppression. They had ended the ghettos, the Pales of Settlement, but the ghettos had at least afforded us a protective fence, of sorts, to huddle behind. Now we were like clucking chickens out in the open, waiting to be picked off one by one for counter-revolutionary activity.
As other reviewers have noted, the book will be enjoyed more fully if readers can access images of Chagall’s paintings and be able to check them as they are discussed. I only had access to the e-book version and I don’t know if the paper copies contain illustrations, but it would enhance the experience.
I recommend the book to art lovers, fans of Marc Chagall and painters of the period, people interested in that historical period, studious of the Russian Revolution interested in a different perspective, and people intrigued by Jewish life in pre- and early-revolutionary Russia. I have read great reviews about the author’s book on another painter, Hogarth, and I’ll be keeping track of his new books.
Although I am not sure I would say I’m a big fan of Chagall's paintings, I’ve always been intrigued by them and drawn to them, even when I didn’t know much about the author or what was behind them. I’ve seen several exhibitions of his work and have also visited the wonderful Chagall National Museum in Nice, France (I recommend it to anybody wishing to learn more about the painter and his works, particularly those with a religious focus). When I was offered the opportunity to read this novel, written by an author with a particular affinity for the art-world, it was an opportunity too good to miss.
The book is not a full biography. It follows Marc Chagall (born Moyshe Shagal) from his birth in the pre-revolutionary Russian town of Vitebsk (now in Belarus) until he paints the White Crucifixion of the title. We accompany Chagall through his childhood (hard and difficult conditions, but not for lack of affection or care), his early studies and his interactions with his peers (many of whom became well-known artists in their own right), his love story with Bella (fraught as it was at times), his first stay in Paris, in the Hive (a fabulous-sounding place, and a glorious and chaotic Petri dish where many great artists, especially from Jewish origin, lived and created), his return to Russia and his encounter with the Russian revolution (full of hopes and ideals for a better future at first, hopes and ideals that are soon trashed by the brutality of the new regime), and finally his escape and return to France.
Throughout it all, we learn about his passion for painting, his creative self-assurance and fascination for Jewish life and traditions, his peculiar creative methods and routine (he wears makeup to paint and prefers to paint at night), his visitations by the prophet Elijah and how that is reflected in his paintings, his pettiness and jealousy (he is forever suspicious of other pupils and fellow painters, of his wife and her friends), and how he can be truly oblivious to practical matters and always depends on others to manage the everyday details of life (like food, money, etc.). He is surrounded by tragedy and disaster (from the death of his young sister to the many deaths caused by the destruction of Vitebsk at the hands of the revolutionaries) although he is lucky in comparison to many of his contemporaries, and lived to a very ripe old age.
The book is a fictionalization of the early years of Marc Chagall’s life (with a very brief mention of his end), but it is backed up by a good deal of research that is seamlessly threaded into the story. We read about the art movements of the time and Chagall’s opinion of them, about other famous painters (I love the portrayal of Modigliani, a favourite among all his peers), about the historical events of the time, all from a unique perspective, that of the self-absorbed Chagall. He is not a particularly sympathetic character. Despite his protestations of love, he is more interested in painting than in his wife and daughter, although he states that he feels guilty for some of the tragedies that happen to those around him, he pays little heed to them all and does not change his selfish behaviour, and he is far from modest (he feels he has nothing to learn from anybody, is clearly superior to most, if not all, his colleagues and he often talks about how attractive he is). He is unashamed and unapologetic, as he would have to be to succeed in the circumstances he had to live through. But, no matter what we might feel about the man, the book excels at explaining the genesis of some of his best-known early paintings, and all readers will leave with a better understanding of the man and his art.
The writing combines the first person narrative with the historical detail and loving descriptions of places and people, giving Chagall a unique and distinctive voice and turning him into a real person, with defects and qualities, with his pettiness and his peculiar sense of humour. Although we might not like him or fully understand him, we get to walk in his shoes and to share in his sense of wonder and in his urgency to create.
I wanted to share some quotations from the book, so you can get some sense of the style and decide if it suits your taste:
When I work, I feel as if my father and my mother are peering over my shoulder — and behind them Jews, millions of vanished Jews of yesterday and a thousand years ago. They are all in my paintings.
Here he talks about Modigliani and one of his lovers, Beatrice Hastings:
They had some of the most erudite fights in Paris. They used to fight in verse. He would yell Dante at her. She would scream back Dante Gabriel Rossetti or Milton, who Modi especially detested.
Modi once said ‘The human face is the supreme creation of nature. Paint it and you paint life.’
All my life I have blamed myself for whatever it was I was doing, but all my life I have gone on doing it.
So much for the revolution freeing the Jews from oppression. They had ended the ghettos, the Pales of Settlement, but the ghettos had at least afforded us a protective fence, of sorts, to huddle behind. Now we were like clucking chickens out in the open, waiting to be picked off one by one for counter-revolutionary activity.
As other reviewers have noted, the book will be enjoyed more fully if readers can access images of Chagall’s paintings and be able to check them as they are discussed. I only had access to the e-book version and I don’t know if the paper copies contain illustrations, but it would enhance the experience.
I recommend the book to art lovers, fans of Marc Chagall and painters of the period, people interested in that historical period, studious of the Russian Revolution interested in a different perspective, and people intrigued by Jewish life in pre- and early-revolutionary Russia. I have read great reviews about the author’s book on another painter, Hogarth, and I’ll be keeping track of his new books.
February 2, 2018
Michael Dean's obvious passion for his subjects , meticulous research and ability to tell a darn good story makes for a first class reading experience. I'm not a huge fan of Chagall 's art, but this novel has got me looking at his work ( and that of his contemporaries ) with greater interest, having had his life and art so wonderfully presented to me. I love novels that are not only a great read but also a wonderful learning experience - ' The White Crucifixion ' is one of those stories .
July 13, 2021
Having seen the author in the Essex Book Festival, I decided to buy the book. I found the writing very much linked to the paintings so I have been running two books together looking at
Chagall's work as the author imagines the painter's mood and circumstances when he is working on his various different ouvres. I would read other books by this author, as he has an engaging style. I would also read other novels about painters.
Chagall's work as the author imagines the painter's mood and circumstances when he is working on his various different ouvres. I would read other books by this author, as he has an engaging style. I would also read other novels about painters.
December 28, 2018
I’m always interested in novels about art or artists and I was lucky to find this novel after I had seen the painting of The White Crucifixion in Chicago in September. It was painted in 1938 and shows Jesus as a Jewish martyr surrounded by images of the violence towards Jews that was intensifying across Europe at the time.
I’ve been interested in Chagal’s work for a number of years, being moved by his combination of modernism and dreamlike fantasy. His stained glass work is remarkable and there is a splendid example of that in Chicago as well. I’ve also visited Chagal’s grave in the artists’ town of St Paul de Vence in Provence.
The novel explores Chagal’s Jewish roots in Belarus and his often fraught relationship with Jewish tradition. However, the main focus of the novel is on his art, particularly his life in Paris in the early 1900s when modernism was exploding onto the art scene. I spent time Googling images of the various paintings that were mentioned in the book. Many of these paintings were inspired by the love for his wife, Bella. Normally I don’t like to suspend my reading for research but in this case, seeing the paintings alongside the text seemed necessary - certainly enriching.
The other fascinating section of the novel deals with the time when Chagal returns to Russia and finds himself embroiled in the artistic repercussions of the recent communist revolution. He is appointed as the Director of the Art School in his home town of Vitebsk but soon finds himself out of step with the regime’s directions about art for the workers. The repression and brutality are intensely felt.
One of the strange things about the book was that it only directly covers Chagal’s early life up to the 1920s when he returns to Paris. Parts of his future life (including the painting of The White Crucifixion) are brought into the novel through a series of ‘visions’ when Chagal sees the future through the eyes of The Prophet Elijah. I was not convinced by this approach even though I suppose it was consistent with Chagal’s own visionary art.
Despite this reservation, I would highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in modern art and in Chagal’s life and work.
I’ve been interested in Chagal’s work for a number of years, being moved by his combination of modernism and dreamlike fantasy. His stained glass work is remarkable and there is a splendid example of that in Chicago as well. I’ve also visited Chagal’s grave in the artists’ town of St Paul de Vence in Provence.
The novel explores Chagal’s Jewish roots in Belarus and his often fraught relationship with Jewish tradition. However, the main focus of the novel is on his art, particularly his life in Paris in the early 1900s when modernism was exploding onto the art scene. I spent time Googling images of the various paintings that were mentioned in the book. Many of these paintings were inspired by the love for his wife, Bella. Normally I don’t like to suspend my reading for research but in this case, seeing the paintings alongside the text seemed necessary - certainly enriching.
The other fascinating section of the novel deals with the time when Chagal returns to Russia and finds himself embroiled in the artistic repercussions of the recent communist revolution. He is appointed as the Director of the Art School in his home town of Vitebsk but soon finds himself out of step with the regime’s directions about art for the workers. The repression and brutality are intensely felt.
One of the strange things about the book was that it only directly covers Chagal’s early life up to the 1920s when he returns to Paris. Parts of his future life (including the painting of The White Crucifixion) are brought into the novel through a series of ‘visions’ when Chagal sees the future through the eyes of The Prophet Elijah. I was not convinced by this approach even though I suppose it was consistent with Chagal’s own visionary art.
Despite this reservation, I would highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in modern art and in Chagal’s life and work.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews