I and the Village 《我与村庄》

爱艺

I and the Village （oil on canvas， 192.1 cm × 151.4 cm， 1911） is a “narrative self-portrait” featuring memories of Marc Chagalls childhood in the town of Vitebsk， in Russia. The dreamy painting is ripe with images of the Russian landscape and symbols from folk stories. The picture can be broken down into five distinct sections. The first at the top right includes a rendering of Chagalls home town， with a church， a series of houses and two people. The woman and some of the houses in the village are upside down， further emphasizing the dreamlike quality of the work. Below that we see a green-faced man who some say is Chagall himself. At the bottom of the work， we see a hand holding a flowering branch. Next to that， an object which some say is a childs bouncing ball—perhaps a plaything from Chagalls earlier days. Finally， we see the image of a milkmaid layered atop the head of a lamb—a motif common to Chagall. （Cows， bulls and lambs figure in many of Chagalls paintings as cosmic symbols.）

The important thing to note about this picture is that it is a reflection of Marc Chagalls dreams and memories. Also relevant is the fact that many of Chagalls pictures （including this one） have symbols that relate specifically to Jewish folklore.

I and the Village is one of Chagalls earliest surviving works. In it， he ignored the laws of gravity. Objects are upside down， things appear to float and perspective is disregarded entirely. Instead， Chagall chose to focus on color， form and shape. The artist also disregarded natural colors and used his imagination to fill the shapes defined by black contours， characterized by a cubist art style. The result is a very emotional work—a visual diary of Marc Chagalls life.

《我與村庄》（布面油画，192.1厘米×151.4厘米，1911）是一幅“叙事性自画像”，记述了马克·夏加尔在俄国维捷布斯克镇度过的童年时光。梦幻般的画面充满了俄国的风景意象和民间故事的象征符号。该画可分割为五个不同的部分。右上角为第一部分，描绘了夏加尔的家乡，有一座教堂、一排房屋和一男一女两个人;那名女子头下脚上，村里的几间房屋也上下颠倒，进一步强化了画作的梦幻感。下方是一个绿脸男子，有人说那是夏加尔本人。画面底部，有一只手拿着一根开满了花的枝条。它的旁边是另一样东西，有人认为是小孩玩的弹球，那也许就是夏加尔儿时的玩具。最后一部分是一只羔羊的头，羊头上还画了一个挤奶女工——羔羊是夏加尔画作常见的主题。（在夏加尔的许多画作中，母牛、公牛和羔羊都被当作广大宇宙的象征符号。）

此画值得注意的是，它反映了夏加尔的梦想和记忆。与此关联的还有一点，即夏加尔多幅画作（包括此幅）都含有与犹太民间传说尤为相关的象征符号。

《我与村庄》是夏加尔现存最早的作品之一。创作时，他无视重力法则。描绘的对象上下颠倒，物体看似飘浮空中，透视则完全被抛弃。反之，夏加尔关注的是色彩、形式和形状。他还放弃了天然的色彩，而是发挥自己的想象去填充黑线勾边的各种形状，呈现出明显的立体主义画派风格。整幅作品饱含情感——是夏加尔用画笔记下的生活日记。