Chagall paid a man to pose in his dead father's prayer clothes so he could paint them. He had returned to Vitebsk and realised the Hasidic traditions he grew up with were disappearing. The shtetl world of his childhood, the fiddlers on rooftops, the floating lovers, the goats and roosters mixed with Torah and candlelight, would survive primarily through his paintings.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1887–1985, French
- Movements
- Works held in
- 28 museums[1]
Biography
He was born Moishe Shagal in 1887, in the Pale of Settlement, the restricted zone where Jews were permitted to live in the Russian Empire. His father worked at a herring warehouse. The family was devout Hasidic. After studying in St Petersburg, he went to Paris in 1911 and immersed himself in the Fauvists and Cubists, absorbing their formal innovations without abandoning the narrative imagery of his childhood. The colour and the dreamlike floating figures were already there in Vitebsk. Paris gave him the structure.
He met Bella Rosenfeld, the daughter of a wealthy Vitebsk jeweller, and married her in 1915. She became his primary subject for the next three decades. The flying lovers that recur across his work, gravity-defying couples suspended above rooftops and villages, began with Bella. When she died of a streptococcal infection in New York in September 1944, penicillin existed but the entire supply was reserved for soldiers. He stopped painting for nine months. He continued to paint her memory for the remaining forty-one years of his life.
Picasso once said that when Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what colour really is. The friendship ended at a dinner at Chagall's home in 1964. Picasso asked when he was going back to Russia. Chagall replied: after you, I hear you are greatly loved there but not your work. They never spoke again.
His late stained glass commissions are among the strongest work of his final decades: the Peace Window at the United Nations, the twelve windows representing the Tribes of Israel at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, and windows at Metz Cathedral. In 1964, Andre Malraux commissioned him to paint the ceiling of the Paris Opera, a decision that provoked fury from critics who objected to a Russian-born Jewish artist working inside a French Baroque monument. He lived to ninety-seven.
Timeline
- 1887Born in Vitebsk, Belarus, into a Hasidic Jewish family
- 1910Moved to Paris aged 23; discovered Cubism and Fauvism
- 1914First solo show at Der Sturm gallery, Berlin, aged 27
- 1941Fled France for New York aged 54 after Nazi invasion
- 1964Painted ceiling of the Paris Opera aged 77
- 1973Musee National Marc Chagall opened in Nice aged 86
- 1985Died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, aged 97
Notable Works
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Where to See Marc Chagall
1 museum worldwide.
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Is marc chagall a surrealist?
Marc Chagall associated with Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay and encountered Fauvism and Cubism. He participated in the Salon des Independants and the Salon d'Autom.Is marc chagall russian?
Marc Chagall was born in 1887 in the Russian town of Vitebsk. As a Jew, he could not legally live in St Petersburg, but he managed somehow.Marc chagall artist style?
Marc Chagall was considered the first conscious postmodernist. He moved from one trend of the avant-garde to another, absorbing techniques.Was marc chagall christian?
Marc Chagall grew up in a Yiddish-speaking society, in the heartland of the Jewish masses in Russia. He adopted an interest in Jewish themes and wrote to Pen in 1921 that Pen raised a great generation of Jewish artists.Was marc chagall religious?
Marc Chagall grew up in a Yiddish-speaking society, in the heartland of the Jewish masses in Russia. He also adopted an interest in Jewish themes.What is marc chagall most known for?
Marc Chagall is known for his interest in fairy-tales and fantasy. One painting shows two fantastical figures flying across the sky above a town.When did marc chagall die?
Marc Chagall died in 1985 at the age of 98.When did marc chagall live?
Marc Chagall lived from 1887 to 1985. He was born on 7 July 1887 in the Russian town of Vitebsk.Where can i see marc chagall paintings?
Marc Chagall's works can be seen at National Gallery of Art[5], National Gallery of Art, Prints in the National Gallery of Art, and 2 other museums worldwide.Who was marc chagall's wife?
Marc Chagall married Bella Rosenfeld in 1915. She became his primary subject for the next three decades.Where marc chagall was born?
Marc Chagall was born in 1887 in France. Marc Chagall died in 1985, aged 98.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Marc Chagall.
- [1] museum Milwaukee Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Städel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum National Museum of Serbia Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Kreeger Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum National Gallery of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Rosengart Collection Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book guggenheim-guhe00solo Used for: biography.
- [8] book guggenheim-meisterw00kren Used for: biography.
- [9] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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