Psychoanalytic Perspective on Mark Chagal`s Art

This master's thesis presents a psychoanalytic study of the meaning and function of artistic creativity on the example of the works of Mark Zakharovich Chagall, taking into account the peculiarities of the subjects chosen by him and the author's visual style as a special aesthetic form. The work explores the hypothesis that art in its deeper meaning is associated with the pre-verbal period of mental development, and the aesthetic form chosen by the artist is an objective (perceived) form that resonates truthfully (that is, in maximum accordance) with subjective experience. A meaningful form allows a person to exist and feel real, and an artist is someone who has the skill and ability to create such forms. The artist uses his work as a transitional object and an extension of himself in a way similar to the early use of a mother by an infant. The development of such skills stems from the need to fill an early deficit by involving in the sphere of symbolic containment those aspects of the Self that have so far remained unnoticed. The research focuses on the non-verbal dialogue of visual artistic creation, but similar processes occur in verbal forms of art, where the author fills language with his own mental content and remakes it to benefit his expressive needs. Exploring the creative motives of Marc Chagall, it becomes possible to observe how the aesthetic forms used by the artist (including plots, palette, performance style and symbols) enter into a silent dialogue with the viewer and immerse him in a special mental state similar to a meditative one. Psychoanalytic literature, autobiography and popular science biographies of the artist, his works illustrating a wide range of topics were used as sources for this work. The studied empirical material is presented in the following areas: - the theme of Homeland and childhood in Chagall's paintings dedicated to the subjects of life in Vitebsk; - love lyrics presented in the context of symbiotic relationships and Chagall's autobiographical story; - the fate of the Jewish people and the involvement of Chagall in it.