Chagall
Stefano Lazzari meets Pope Francis on Dec. 18, 2019 and presents him with Marc Chagall's The White Crucifixion as a gift for the residence, Casa Santa Marta, at the Vatican.
The 'White Crucifixion' represents a still relevant cry against the madness of the Nazis and all extremists.
This work is an oil painting on canvas 155×140 centimeters made in 1938 by Marc Chagall. It is located in The Art Institute of Chicago. Chagall made his work in conjunction with Crystal Night. This is remembered as one of the main moments of Jewish persecution, as it was the object of bloody racial violence. With this painting the artist wants to denounce the unjust persecution suffered by the people and does so by placing the figure of the crucified Christ, taken as the archetype of the Jewish martyr, at the center. Chagall elaborates a painting that is far removed from Jewish culture but, in so telling the story, the artist seeks to highlight the points of encounter between his culture and Christian culture and is in fact appreciated even by Pope Francis.
Pope Francis, speaking of the relationship between Jewish and Christian culture highlighted in the work, said how this is his favorite painting. The Holy Father saw this painting at an exhibition in Florence and fell so in love with it that he requested a reproduction for his bedroom.
With honor, the task of a new representation with destination Casa Santa Marta was entrusted to Bottega Tifernate, which, after six months of hard work, delivered to the Pope an identical "re-creation" made by analyzing the original in detail even though it is 2.5 times smaller.
The painting was made in pictography on linen canvas and then painted in several layers using natural oxide pigments. These provide a long life to the work and greater resistance to light. The "re-creation" of the "White Crucifixion" has a format size of 60×53.5 centimeters, so it was necessary to use special magnifying glasses to "revise" the elements to the original size during painting.