BIOGRAPHY

 

1887: Marc Chagall is born into a family of Hasidic Jews in Vitebsk, Belarus, on 7 July
1906-1910: Studies in the atelier of Yehuda Pen and then in Saint Petersburg at the atelier of Léon Bakst
1911: Journeys to Paris, taking up residence at La Ruche
1914: Returns to Vitebsk, staying much longer than planned due to the war
1915: Marries Bella Rosenfeld
1916: Ida Chagall is born
1918-1920: Appointed Commissioner of Fine Arts for the Vitebsk region
1920: First orders for sketches and costumes. Transferred to Moscow, where he produces work for the Jewish State Chamber Theatre
1922-1923: Leaves Russia for Berlin, where he completes Mein leben, the autobiography begun in 1915-16
1923-1930: Returns to Paris. Commissions: The Dead Souls by Gogol, the Fables by La Fontaine, and the Bible
1937: Becomes a naturalized French citizen. Nazi regime declares his work “degenerate art”
1941: Leaves for the United States
1944: Bella Chagall dies
1948: Returns to France
1952: Marries Valentina Brodsky (Vava)
1953-1960: Series of ‘Message biblique’ [Biblical Message] “murals”
1959: Designs stained glass windows for the cathedral in Metz
1962: Inauguration of the twelve windows of the synagogue at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem
1964: Inauguration of the decorated ceiling of the Opéra Garnier in Paris
1967-1977: Involved in projects using stained glass as well as tapestries and mosaics
1973: Musée National du Message Biblique Marc Chagall opens in Nice
1985: Dies in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

  • Marc Chagall in Paris, ‘30

  • The House of Chagall’s parents in Vitebsk

  • Marc Chagall and Bella Rosenfeld, ca. 1910

  • Residence, La Ruche, Paris, ca. 1965

  • Marc Chagall working on a outline for the Jewish Theatre, Moscow, 1919-1920

  • The 3rd class wagon, Scholem Aleichem’s ’Agents’, 1919

  • Marc, Bella and Ida in Paris, 1924

  • Marc and Bella in Paris, 1938-1939