Language:
שפה נוכחית
The Ilona and Hugo Lowy Special Collections Presentation Room, Floor -3
The artist paints authentic views of his birthplace, and something of the confrontation between the traditional Jewish world and the Christian world, embodied by the imposing cathedral of Vitebsk. The figure sailing over the town is a Jewish peddler of “alte zachen,” second-hand goods. The origin of the strange vision lies in the Yiddish idiom for the itinerant peddler as one who “goes over the houses,” meaning “from house to house.” Chagall (originally “Segal”) signed his name in Hebrew letters, as used by his native Yiddish tongue.
The National Library of Israel
