THE FAMILY / Marc Chagall

 

MARC CHAGALL was born in 1887 in the Belorussian city of Vitsyebsk, a major lively city, as well as a center of Jewish culture. He spent a brief period studying at the School of Fine Arts, where he was introduced to Leon Bakst, the designer for the Russian Ballet who would become his teacher. In 1910, a patron sponsored his move to Paris; and, in 1911, moved to a studio in “La Ruche” (The Beehive). Before Paris, his style was rooted in realism, but his new works reflected an interest in Fauvism and Cubism. He illustrated books, including an edition of the Bible. In 1941, with the outbreak of World War II and Nazi persecution, Chagall was forced into exile in the United States. He painted the ceiling of the Paris Opera in 1964, and also painted murals for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Marc Chagall died in 1985.