The Synthesis of Arts by Marc Chagall: From Vitebsk's Mystery to Total Creation Introduction: Overcoming Boundaries as a Philosophy of Creativity The idea of the synthesis of arts, key to the avant-garde of the early 20th century, took on a unique, deeply personal dimension in Marc Chagall. A native of the multicultural city of Vitebsk, where Yiddish, Russian, and Belarusian were spoken, where the life of a Jewish shtetl mixed with symbols of Orthodox churches, Chagall initially perceived the world as a whole, albeit paradoxical, polymorphic space. His pursuit of synthesis was not a formal experiment, but an existential and almost mystical attempt to express the inexpressible: the inner truth, memory, love, spiritual enlightenment, for which a canvas or paint was not enough. Synthesis for him was a way to achieve maximum expressiveness, creating a "total work of art" (Gesamtkunstwerk) that encompasses the viewer from all sides. Theoretical Origins: Vitebsk, Petersburg, Paris The formation of the concept was influenced by several sources: His own cultural hybrid experience. Folkloric imagery, the musicality of Yiddish, the vividness of signs and murals on Vitebsk shops, the religious prohibition on depiction in Judaism, which Chagall overcame through poetic metaphor — all this formed a natural basis for syncretic thinking. Russian symbolism and the ideas of "Mystery". In Petersburg, Chagall found himself in an environment that dreamt of a new synthetic theater capable of reviving the ancient mystery. The ideas of Vyacheslav Ivanov and Alexander Scriabin about collective art involving all senses influenced him. The Parisian environment and the "Russian Seasons". In Paris, he saw the triumph of synthesis in Diaghilev's "Russian Seasons" ballets, where music, dance, and painting (including his compatriot Leon Bakst) merged into one. Practical Realizations: Key Projects and Media 1. Theater: from the "Theatrical Revolution" to GogolIn theater, Chagall realized the synthe ... Read more