Marc Chagall and Leonid Afremov had similar lives. Marc Chagall was born in Liozna near Vitebsk, Russia in 1887. Chagall was of Jewish descent, which in Russia and still to this day, is a hindrance. The Jewish people could not freely move around in Russia they were localized in their small community’s by the Russian government. Marc Chagall’s father was a poor herring merchant and his mother sold groceries out of their house. Marc Chagall’s mother wanted her son to attend high school, at the time Jewish children were not allowed to attend Russian schools, so his mother without hesitation paid the headmaster 50 rubles so he could attend high school. At high school, he saw a boy drawing and was totally fascinated by drawing, which is when he realized he would become a painter. Chagall started attending art school in 1906 at the Yehuda art school. Yuri Pen, the school of art, let Chagall attend for free, knowing that the young Chagall came from a poor family. Chagall realized quickly that he did not like academic portrait painting. Marc Chagall had went on a quest to learn everything there was about becoming a painter. Chagall first had to come to grip about his Jewish ancestry, he could either hide the fact he was Jewish or embrace it. Marc Chagall decided to embrace his ancestry and be bold about being Jewish, not very popular at the time. In later years art critic Robert Hughes, referred to Marc Chagall as “the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century”. Marc Chagall did not think of his work only as Jewish arts but someone who tried to encompass all humanity. This is one of the reasons Leonid Afremov considers Marc Chagall one of his mentors that he could look up too.
Leonid Afremov’s life resembles Marc Chagall’s life very closely. Afremov was born in July 1955 in Vitebsk, Belarus (formerly of the USSR). Leonid’s father was a shoemaker and his mother worked in a metal factory. Leonid attended Vitebsk Art School, which of Marc Chagall was an instructor in the early 20th century at. Both Afremov and Chagall were persecuted for being Jewish. Both men grew up in poverty and lived under a Russian government that did not like or respect Jews. Neither one of them had the freedom to move around the country nor express their own view points of how they wanted to paint. Leonid’s life was very bleak in his homeland, he had to make a living painting propaganda for the communist party. He could not express his view points at all. In the end, both men had to leave Russia for their family’s safety. To this day, the Russian government still discriminates again Jewish people.
Leonid says he would like the viewer to feel the painting instead of giving out his own point of view of the painting. Everything Leonid paints is from personal inspiration during his travels. Leonid usually takes a photo of something that inspires him so he can relay the emotions of his painting to his audience. One of the ways Leonid Afremov’s painting are used is in Art Therapy. You do not have to be an artist or know how to paint to understand Leonid’s work and the emotions that can come from his art. For example, Art Therapy is used with the elderly to help bring them out of their shell. A beautiful scenery portrait of Leonid’s can bring back emotions for an elderly patient. The patient can start talking about his or her past and the feelings they have when they see the portrait. It helps the counselors and the nursing staff to gauge if the patient is depressed or in a positive mood. With a child that is the victim of a crime, Leonid’s paintings of his cats or other animals can put the child at ease so the child can open up to the counselor and express their feelings. There are many types and fields of Art Therapy, but the main purpose of all Art Therapy is to help heal the patient.
Art Therapy needs artists that have gone through hell and back, and still know how to look at humanity with love and hope. The way they understand color and the effect it has on a person’s life is a benefit to all of us. Through color they show us how to get in touch with our emotions, if they are painful or not. If we did not have artists like Afremov and Chagall making art that inspires us to feel and appreciate the life around us, the world would be an emptier place.
Leonid Afremov paintings.
War of Feelings.
Last Kiss
Gone with the Rain
Lovers
Kittens
Romantic Cat
Close race.
Sad puppy.
MARC-CHAGALL-O-PINCEL-DA-LIBERDADE
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Paris Opera House Ceiling
Leonid Afremov and Marc Chagall are both great expressionistic painters. They bring to life their paintings through color and feelings. Both men love bold and strong colors. Afremov and Chagall want the viewer to feel the painting and make up their own mind on how to interpret the portrait they are viewing.
References
- Jeffrey,David Lyle. Meditation and Atonement in the Art of Marc Chagall. 2012, Academic Journal.
- Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition;2013,Encyclopedic Reference.
- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Marc Chagall.
- www.art-wallpaper.net
- Leonid Afremov, www.Afremov.com Afremov’s biography.
- Leonid Afremov, http://www.youtube.com/user/afremovgallery
Learning To Be 