L'âne musicien et les mariés

Chagall’s fascination with spiritual and religious imagery had its roots, as with much of his art, in his childhood in Vitebsk, which was dominated by the dramas and rituals of the Jewish religious calendar, its stories and legends, prayers and ceremonies. ‘Every holy day brought its own atmosphere,’ Bella Chagall wrote in her memoir of her youth, recalling how each feast day or celebration had its own customs, food and traditions, which brought the town to life (quoted in J. Wullschlager, Chagall: Love and Exile, London, 2008, p. 29). These events left a vivid mark on the impressionable young artist’s imagination.

Jewish weddings recur in Chagall’s work in many variants. In the present version, the mystical animal takes up the lyre of King David simultaneously representing the constant renewal of inspiration and the mellifluous music of the King. The bridal couple under the red canopy, known as the chuppah, watch on from the left of the town of Vitebsk, watching the musicians while the artist reads to them from the Book of Life.