The Art of Time, the Art of Place: Isaac Bashevis Singer and Marc Chagall—A Dialogue

This book is a study in comparisons between two of the most prominent Jewish artists of the 20th century: the Polish-born story-teller Isaac Bashevis-Singer and the Russian-born creator of visual magic, Marc Chagall. This work discusses how, while both artists were affected by these Western influences, they remained firmly entrenched within the Jewish culture—the Yiddish language and life in the “shtetl”—from which they drew their inspiration. Author Ruth Dorot demonstrates how both artists shared, albeit unwittingly, a common “meta-realistic” style for combining the earthly with the supernatural and the transcendental. She shares how their works allude to real place names, dates, facts, and historical events; but at the same time contain occult forces, angels, demons, mysticism, and mystery.