Marc Chagall

Biography of Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall was born in Belarus in 1887.

The discovery of the work of Van Gogh and Cézanne would be the trigger for his approach to painting. Arriving in Paris in 1910, he met with Apollinaire, Cendrars, but also Modigliani and Delaunay.

The First World War brought him back to his native country, where he was, for a time, fascinated by the Russian Revolution.

Returning to Western Europe, Chagall illustrated "Dead Souls" and "The Fables of La Fontaine", before tackling his masterpiece in illustration: "The Bible".

At the same time, the theme of the crucifixion invaded his work, while the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe led him to move to the United States.

Back in France after the end of the war, he embarked on the creation of monumental works linked to architecture, such as the cathedral of Metz, the new parliament of Jerusalem, the Maeght Foundation, or the ceiling of the Paris Opera.

His lithographic production is also impressive, with fifteen to twenty lithographs per year from 1952 onwards.

He passed away on March 28, 1985, in Saint-Paul de Vence, two years before the opening of the retrospective that the Pushkin Museum in Moscow finally dedicated to him.

(c) Natacha PELLETIER for PASSION ESTAMPES