“PAINTING IS MORE NECESSARY TO ME THAN FOOD. IT SEEMS LIKE A WINDOW THROUGH WHICH I COULD HAVE TAKEN FLIGHT TOWARD ANOTHER WORLD.” CHAGALL MARC CHAGALL JULY 7, 1887 – MARCH 28, 1985 (97 YEARS OLD) I and the Village, by Marc Chagall, 1911

Marc Chagall was born in the Russian city of Vitebsk (Vee-tip-sk) He was the oldest of 7 sisters and 1 brother. His father was a fish seller and his mother owned a small grocery store. His family was poor but very loving. He had lots of fun with his family, and one of his favorites was Uncle Neuch who played the violin. Chagall said that when Uncle Neuch danced around the room playing, Marc became so happy that his head would gently float off his body and follow his uncle around.

Marc loved animals. He enjoyed talking to the animals that roamed around his village. He also talked to the stars in the sky and thought of them as his friends. You will see all these influences in his art work. He did not see paintings or drawings until he was thirteen years old as art and artists were not part of most people’s lives in his small village. One day in school, he saw a boy copy a picture out of a book. Marc couldn’t believe his eyes! Right away he tried copying pictures himself. He loved drawing, and put his artwork up all over the house and it was then that he decided he wanted to be an artist. It took some convincing, but his parent finally sent him to art classes in Vitebsk. In 1907, when he was 20, he went to St. Petersburg, the capital city of Russia, to study art and he began to paint his first mysterious works from his memory.

The Cattle Dealer, by Marc Chagall, 1912 Chagall decided to move to Paris, France in 1911 at the age of 24. He loved the people, beautiful buildings and restaurants, but most importantly he loved the light- everything seemed to glitter and sparkle with light in Paris. Chagall started adding more color to his paintings and they seemed to glow from the inside!

Half Past Three (The Poet), by Marc Chagall, 1911 Portrait of Ambroise Vollard, by Pablo Picasso, 1909 Chagall was painting some of his most exciting works in Paris. He and his artist friends were very poor and couldn’t afford canvases sometimes so they would paint on tablecloths, bed sheets and even the back of their pajamas! There were times when he was influenced by other artist’s works, such as Pablo Picasso’s cubist paintings seen above, but many say Chagall’s most important decision as an artist was to keep his work original by sticking with his idea of using dreams and memories.

The Violinist, by Marc Chagall The Flying Carriage, by Marc Chagall, 1913 Chagall’s paintings show us a dream-like world where anything might exist – his colors have nothing to do with nature. He is a storyteller and the real world and fantasy/dreams mix together.

In 1914, he returned to Vitebsk and a year later married his childhood sweetheart Bella Rosenfeld. She is the bride with the veil that you will see in many of Chagall’s paintings. She was a major influence in his work. World War I began and they moved to Moscow in 1920, and then back to Paris in In 1937 he became a French citizen, but then he and his wife were forced to flee. When World War II began and in 1941, the Chagalls settled in the United States. Bella died on September 2, 1944 from illness. Two years later in 1946, Chagall returned to Europe and by 1949, he was working in Provence, France. His works of the period were dedicated to love and the joy of life. He also began to work in sculpture, ceramics, and stained glass.

Chagall’s works were filled with references to his childhood and he communicated happiness and optimism with vivid colors. He often posed himself, sometimes together with his wife, as an observer of the world – a colored world like that seen through a stained-glass window. He was a talented artist full of life and imagination - the atmosphere of Chagall’s paintings suggest the inner whimsical elements of a dream. These dream-like and colorful images, reflecting themes from folklore, legend, and Chagall’s own cherished memories, distinguish him as a master at conveying visual stories.