“PAINTING IS MORE NECESSARY TO ME THAN
FOOD. IT SEEMS LIKE A WINDOW THROUGH
WHICH I COULD HAVE TAKEN FLIGHT
TOWARD ANOTHER WORLD.”
CHAGALL
I and the Village, by Marc Chagall, 1911
MARC CHAG ALL
J U LY 7 , 1 8 87 – M A R C H 2 8 , 1 9 8 5
( 97 Y E AR S O LD )
•
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.
• 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!
The Cattle Dealer, by Marc Chagall, 1912
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 1912-1913
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 1923.
•
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.