Marc Chagall

Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Marc Chagall was born in 1887 in Liozna, near Vitebsk (in present-day Belarus), into a Hasidic Jewish family. His roots, deeply embedded in the culture of the shtetl and in folk mysticism, profoundly shaped his artistic vision, with Jewish spirituality and childhood memories becoming recurring themes throughout his oeuvre.

After studying in St. Petersburg, Chagall moved to Paris in 1910, where he immersed himself in the vibrant world of the avant-garde, absorbing the lessons of Cubism, Fauvism, and Orphism. Yet he remained steadfastly devoted to a deeply personal, poetic, and dreamlike visual language that fused modernist experimentation with narrative symbolism and tradition.

Over the course of his career, Chagall worked across painting, illustration, set design, ceramics, and monumental public art, distinguished by the emotional intensity and imaginative richness of his compositions. He sought refuge in the United States during World War II, returning to France in 1947 and settling in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where he continued to create until his death.

Among his most celebrated works are the stained-glass windows for the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier in Paris, and numerous large-scale commissions across Europe and the United States. His artworks are held in major public and private collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Chagall’s singular vision—suspended between memory and dream—continues to resonate deeply within the landscape of contemporary art.