Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; 6 July 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a prominent Russian and French artist of Jewish heritage. As an early modernist, he maintained affiliations with the École de Paris and various significant artistic movements. His extensive oeuvre encompassed diverse artistic media, such as painting, drawing, book illustration, stained glass, stage design, ceramics, tapestry, and fine art prints.
Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; 6 July [O.S. 24 June] 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist of Jewish ancestry. An early modernist, he was associated with the École de Paris, as well as several major artistic styles and created works in a wide range of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints.
Born in 1887, Chagall originated from a Jewish family residing near Vitebsk, a location currently within Belarus but then part of the Russian Empire's Pale of Settlement. Prior to World War I, his travels included Saint Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin. During this era, he developed a distinctive modern art style, integrating his interpretations of Eastern European and Jewish folklore. The wartime period saw him in Vitebsk and Petrograd, where he emerged as one of Russia's most esteemed artists and a key figure in the modernist avant-garde. He established both the Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art and the People's Art School. Subsequently, he worked in and around Moscow amidst the challenging post-Bolshevik Revolution era in Russia, before relocating to Paris once more in 1923. During World War II, he fled occupied France for the United States, residing in New York City for seven years prior to his return to France in 1948.
Art critic Robert Hughes characterized Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century." Art historian Michael J. Lewis noted that Chagall was regarded as "the last survivor of the first generation of European modernists.” For many decades, he was also revered as "the world's pre-eminent Jewish artist.” His contributions in stained glass include windows for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, the Fraumünster in Zürich, the United Nations, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. Additionally, he executed monumental paintings, notably a section of the Paris Opéra's ceiling. Chagall experienced modernism's "golden age" in Paris, where he "synthesized the art forms of Cubism, Symbolism, and Fauvism, and the influence of Fauvism gave rise to Surrealism." Despite these stylistic evolutions, he consistently remained "most emphatically a Jewish artist, whose work was one long dreamy reverie of life in his native Vitebsk." Pablo Picasso famously commented in the 1950s, "When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what colour really is.”
Early Life and Education
Early Life
Marc Chagall, originally named Moishe Shagal, was born in 1887 to a Jewish family in Lyozna, near Vitebsk, Belarus, or possibly in Vitebsk itself, which was then part of the Russian Empire. At the time of his birth, Vitebsk had an approximate population of 66,000, with over half of its inhabitants being Jewish. Artist Ilya Repin referred to this picturesque city, characterized by its churches and synagogues, as the "Russian Toledo," drawing a comparison to the cosmopolitan former Spanish imperial city. Due to its predominantly wooden construction, minimal portions of the city endured the extensive occupation and destruction of World War II.
Chagall was the firstborn of nine siblings. The surname Shagal is a variation of Segal, a name typically associated with Levitic families within Jewish communities. His father, Khatskl (Zachar) Shagal, worked for a herring merchant, while his mother, Feige-Ite, operated a grocery business from their residence. His father's arduous labor involved transporting heavy barrels, for which he earned 20 roubles monthly, exceeding the Russian Empire's average monthly wage of 13 roubles. Chagall documented these formative years:
Day after day, winter and summer, at six o'clock in the morning, my father got up and went off to the synagogue. There he said his usual prayer for some dead man or other. On his return he made ready the samovar, drank some tea and went to work. Hellish work, the work of a galley-slave. Why try to hide it? How tell about it? No word will ever ease my father's lot... There was always plenty of butter and cheese on our table. Buttered bread, like an eternal symbol, was never out of my childish hands.
A primary economic activity for the town's Jewish inhabitants involved the production of clothing, which was distributed across the Russian Empire. Additionally, they crafted furniture and various agricultural implements. From the late 18th century until the First World War, the Imperial Russian government restricted Jewish residency to the Pale of Settlement. This region encompassed contemporary Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, closely aligning with the former territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which Imperial Russia had annexed in the late 18th century. This policy fostered the development of Jewish market-villages, known as shtetls, throughout what is now Eastern Europe, complete with their own markets, educational facilities, healthcare services, and other communal organizations.
As a boy, Chagall recounted, "I felt at every step that I was a Jew—people made me feel it." Describing a pogrom, Chagall wrote, "The street lamps are out. I feel panicky, especially in front of butchers' windows. There you can see calves that are still alive lying beside the butchers' hatchets and knives." When confronted by pogromniks and asked about his religious identity, Chagall recalled his internal thoughts: "My pockets are empty, my fingers sensitive, my legs weak and they are out for blood. My death would be futile. I so wanted to live." His denial of being Jewish prompted the pogromniks to exclaim, "All right! Get along!"
Much of the information regarding Chagall's early life is derived from his autobiography, My Life. Within this work, he detailed the profound impact of Hasidic Jewish culture on his development as an artist. Chagall recognized the rapid decline of the Jewish traditions he had experienced during his upbringing and felt compelled to document them. Since the 1730s, Vitebsk had served as a significant hub for this culture, with its doctrines rooted in the Kabbalah. Susan Tumarkin Goodman, a scholar of Chagall, elucidates the connections and origins of his art to his formative environment:
Chagall's artistic output can be interpreted as a reaction to a historical condition long characteristic of Russian Jews. Despite their roles as cultural innovators who significantly enriched broader society, Jews were often perceived as outsiders within a frequently antagonistic social environment ... Chagall himself originated from a family deeply immersed in religious observance; his parents were devout Hasidic Jews who derived spiritual fulfillment from a life structured by their faith and guided by prayer.
Artistic Education
During that period in the Russian Empire, Jewish children were prohibited from attending mainstream schools, and universities enforced quotas for Jewish students. Furthermore, their mobility within urban areas was constrained. Consequently, Chagall's initial education took place at the local Jewish religious school, where he studied Hebrew and the Bible. At 13, his mother attempted to enroll him in a conventional high school, prompting his recollection: "But in that school, they don't take Jews. Without a moment's hesitation, my courageous mother walks up to a professor." She successfully negotiated his admission by offering the headmaster 50 roubles.
A pivotal moment in Chagall's artistic development occurred when he observed a fellow student drawing. Baal-Teshuva notes that, for the young Chagall, this observation "was like a vision, a revelation in black and white." Chagall later stated that art was entirely absent from his family home, rendering the concept utterly unfamiliar to him. Upon inquiring how his schoolmate learned to draw, his friend advised, "Go and find a book in the library, idiot, choose any picture you like, and just copy it." Chagall subsequently began replicating images from books, finding the experience so fulfilling that he resolved to pursue a career as an artist.
Goodman recounts that Chagall eventually disclosed to his mother, "I want to be a painter," despite her initial inability to comprehend his sudden artistic inclination or his choice of a profession that "seemed so impractical." The young Chagall clarified: "There's a place in town; if I'm admitted and if I complete the course, I'll come out a regular artist. I'd be so happy!" This occurred in 1906, after he had become aware of the studio of Yehuda (Yuri) Pen, a realist artist who ran a drawing school in Vitebsk. Concurrently, future artists El Lissitzky and Ossip Zadkine were also studying under Pen. Given Chagall's youth and financial constraints, Pen offered him instruction without charge. Nevertheless, after several months at the institution, Chagall concluded that academic portraiture was not aligned with his artistic sensibilities.
Artistic Inspiration
Goodman observes that during the Imperial Russian era, Jewish individuals could enter the art world through two distinct paths: either by "concealing or disavowing their Jewish heritage" or, as Chagall opted, by "cherishing and openly articulating their Jewish roots" through artistic integration. For Chagall, this approach also served as a method of "self-assertion and a declaration of principle."
Franz Meyer, Chagall's biographer, posits that the "Hassidic spirit remains the foundational and nurturing element of his art," given the profound links between his artistic output and his early life. Lewis further elaborates, stating that despite Chagall's eventual cosmopolitanism as an artist, his repertoire of visual imagery consistently drew from his childhood landscape, characterized by "snowy streets, wooden houses, and ubiquitous fiddlers." Lewis continues, describing how these "scenes of childhood [were] so indelibly in one's mind and [invested] them with an emotional charge so intense that it could only be discharged obliquely through an obsessive repetition of the same cryptic symbols and ideograms."
Decades later, at 57 years old and residing in the United States, Chagall reaffirmed this connection by publishing an open letter titled "To My City Vitebsk."
"Why? Why did I depart from you many years ago? ... You believed the boy sought something, a particular subtlety, a color descending like stars from the sky, landing bright and transparent as snow on our roofs. From where did he acquire it? How could it manifest in a boy like him? I am uncertain why he could not discover it among us, within the city—in his homeland. Perhaps the boy is 'mad,' yet 'mad' for the sake of art. ...You thought: 'I perceive, I am etched in the boy's heart, but he is still 'soaring,' still striving to ascend; he has 'wind' in his head.' ... Although I did not reside with you, not a single one of my paintings failed to embody your spirit and essence."
Artistic Career
The Russian Empire (1906–1910)
In 1906, Chagall relocated to Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the Russian Empire and a prominent hub for artistic endeavors, housing renowned art institutions. As Jewish individuals required an internal passport for city entry, he secured a temporary one through a friend. He subsequently enrolled in a prestigious art school, where he studied for two years. By 1907, Chagall had commenced painting naturalistic self-portraits and landscapes. He was also an active participant in the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples, an irregular Freemasonic lodge, specifically affiliated with the "Vitebsk" lodge.
From 1908 to 1910, Chagall pursued his studies under Léon Bakst at the Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting. During his time in Saint Petersburg, he encountered experimental theater and the works of artists such as Paul Gauguin. Bakst, who was also Jewish, was a distinguished decorative art designer, renowned for his stage sets and costumes for the Ballets Russes. He served as a significant role model for Chagall, demonstrating Jewish achievement in the arts. Bakst later moved to Paris a year subsequent to Chagall's enrollment. Art historian Raymond Cogniat observes that following four years of independent artistic living and study, "Chagall entered into the mainstream of contemporary art. ...His apprenticeship over, Russia had played a memorable initial role in his life."
Chagall remained in Saint Petersburg until 1910, frequently returning to Vitebsk, where he encountered Bella Rosenfeld. In his autobiography, My Life, Chagall recounted their initial meeting: "Her silence is mine, her eyes mine. It is as if she knows everything about my childhood, my present, my future, as if she can see right through me." Bella, reflecting on their first meeting, later wrote: "When you did catch a glimpse of his eyes, they were as blue as if they'd fallen straight out of the sky. They were strange eyes … long, almond-shaped … and each seemed to sail along by itself, like a little boat."
France (1910–1914)
In 1910, Chagall relocated to Paris, seeking to refine his artistic approach. Art historian and curator James Sweeney observed that upon Chagall's initial arrival in Paris, Cubism was the prevailing artistic movement, and French art largely retained a "materialistic outlook of the 19th century." Sweeney further noted that Chagall, arriving from Russia, possessed "a ripe color gift, a fresh, unashamed response to sentiment, a feeling for simple poetry and a sense of humor." These artistic sensibilities were then unfamiliar in Paris, leading to Chagall's initial acclaim originating from poets like Blaise Cendrars and Guillaume Apollinaire rather than from fellow painters. Art historian Jean Leymarie commented that Chagall conceived of art as "emerging from the internal being outward, from the seen object to the psychic outpouring," a methodology contrary to the Cubist creative process.
Consequently, Chagall cultivated friendships with Guillaume Apollinaire and other avant-garde artists, including Robert Delaunay and Fernand Léger. Baal-Teshuva documented that "Chagall's dream of Paris, the city of light and above all, of freedom, had come true." Nevertheless, his initial period proved challenging for the 23-year-old Chagall, who experienced loneliness in the metropolis and struggled with the French language. At times, he contemplated returning to Russia, often daydreaming while painting about the richness of Russian folklore, his Hasidic background, his family, and particularly Bella.
While in Paris, Chagall enrolled at the Académie de La Palette, an avant-garde art school where Jean Metzinger, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, and Henri Le Fauconnier taught. He also secured employment at another academy. During his leisure time, he frequented galleries and salons, notably the Louvre, developing an admiration for artists such as Rembrandt, the Le Nain brothers, Chardin, van Gogh, Renoir, Pissarro, Matisse, Gauguin, Courbet, Millet, Manet, Monet, and Delacroix. It was in Paris that he mastered the gouache technique, which he subsequently applied to depict Russian scenes. He also explored Montmartre and the Latin Quarter, finding contentment in "just breathing Parisian air." Baal-Teshuva characterized this new stage in Chagall's artistic evolution as follows:
Chagall experienced profound exhilaration and fascination while traversing the streets and riverbanks of the Seine. Every aspect of the French capital captivated him: the commercial establishments, the aroma of freshly baked bread in the mornings, the vibrant markets with their produce, the expansive boulevards, the diverse cafés and restaurants, and particularly the Eiffel Tower. Furthermore, he encountered an entirely novel artistic realm through the kaleidoscopic interplay of colors and forms in the creations of French artists. Chagall diligently examined their varied artistic tendencies, prompting him to re-evaluate his own artistic stance and determine his future creative trajectory.
While residing in Paris, Chagall frequently recalled his hometown of Vitebsk, partly because Paris also hosted numerous painters, writers, poets, composers, dancers, and other émigrés from the Russian Empire. Despite this, he consistently "painted until dawn, night after night," resting for only a few hours before resuming work, thereby resisting the numerous nocturnal allurements of the metropolis. He once declared, "My homeland exists only in my soul." He persisted in depicting Jewish motifs and subjects drawn from his Vitebsk memories, though he also integrated Parisian scenes, notably the Eiffel Tower, alongside various portraits. Many of his compositions were reinterpreted versions of earlier works created in Russia, now transposed into Fauvist or Cubist artistic idioms.
Chagall cultivated a distinctive repertoire of idiosyncratic motifs, including spectral figures suspended in the sky, the colossal fiddler dancing atop miniature dollhouses, and livestock alongside transparent wombs containing minuscule, inverted offspring. Lewis observed that most of his depictions of Vitebsk life were created during his Parisian residency and were "in a sense, dreams." Their "undertone of yearning and loss," combined with a detached and abstract aesthetic, profoundly impressed Apollinaire, who described them as "surnaturel!" Chagall's "animal/human hybrids and airborne phantoms" subsequently became a significant influence on Surrealism. Nevertheless, Chagall himself sought to avoid associating his work with any particular school or movement, viewing his personal symbolic language as inherently meaningful to him. However, Sweeney remarked that others frequently connect his art with "illogical and fantastic painting," particularly when he employs "curious representational juxtapositions."
Sweeney asserts that Chagall's significant contribution to contemporary art lies in his revitalization of poetic representation, skillfully navigating between literal factual illustration and purely non-figurative abstraction. André Breton similarly observed that Chagall singularly facilitated the triumphant reintroduction of metaphor into modern painting.
Russia (1914–1922)
Driven by his longing for his fiancée, Bella, who remained in Vitebsk—a preoccupation Baal-Teshuva notes as constant—and fearing her loss, Chagall accepted an invitation from a prominent Berlin gallery owner to exhibit his art. His ultimate plan was to proceed to Russia, marry Bella, and subsequently return with her to Paris. Chagall transported 40 canvases and 160 gouaches, watercolors, and drawings for the exhibition. The exhibition, hosted at Herwarth Walden's Sturm Gallery, achieved considerable acclaim, with German critics offering widespread commendation.
Following the exhibition, Chagall traveled to Vitebsk, intending to remain only for his marriage to Bella. Nevertheless, within weeks, the outbreak of the First World War resulted in the indefinite closure of the Russian border. One year later, he married Bella Rosenfeld, and their first child, Ida, was born. Throughout the war, Chagall was employed by the War Industry Committee in Petrograd, an organization established in 1915 to provision the Imperial Russian Army.
Prior to their marriage, Chagall encountered challenges in persuading Bella's parents of his suitability as a husband for their daughter. Their concerns stemmed from her potential marriage to a painter from an impoverished background and uncertainties regarding his ability to provide for her. Consequently, achieving artistic success became both a primary objective and a source of inspiration for Chagall. Lewis notes that "the euphoric paintings of this time, which show the young couple floating balloon-like over Vitebsk—its wooden buildings faceted in the Delaunay manner—are the most lighthearted of his career". The theme of his wedding was also a recurring subject in his later works, reflecting his contemplation of this period.
In 1915, Chagall commenced exhibiting his artwork in Moscow, initially at a prominent salon, followed by exhibitions in St. Petersburg in 1916. He subsequently presented his art at another Moscow exhibition featuring avant-garde artists. This increased visibility led to broader recognition, attracting numerous affluent collectors who acquired his works. Concurrently, he undertook the illustration of several Yiddish books with ink drawings, notably I. L. Peretz's The Magician in 1917. By the age of 30, Chagall had established a significant reputation.
The October Revolution of 1917 presented both significant dangers and new opportunities for Chagall. Chagall documented his growing apprehension regarding Bolshevik directives posted on fences, stating: "The factories were stopping. The horizons opened. Space and emptiness. No more bread. The black lettering on the morning posters made me feel sick at heart". He frequently endured periods of hunger, later recalling observations of "a bride, the beggars and the poor wretches weighted down with bundles," which led him to perceive the new regime as having inverted the Russian Empire "the way I turn my pictures". At this juncture, he was recognized as one of Imperial Russia's most distinguished artists and a prominent member of the modernist avant-garde, a group that enjoyed particular privileges and prestige as the "aesthetic arm of the revolution".
In November 1917, Anatoly Lunacharsky extended an offer to Chagall to lead the visual arts department of Narkompros in Petrograd. Chagall initially declined this proposition, primarily due to his lack of engagement with political matters. However, by the summer of 1918, Chagall reconsidered his refusal and visited Lunacharsky in Petrograd. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed commissar of arts for Vitebsk, a role that led to his establishment of both the People's Art College, also known as "the Academy," and the Art Museum in Vitebsk. Under Chagall's direction, the college attracted prominent artists such as El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich, while the museum's creation marked the "Vitebsk Renaissance," transforming the town into a notable avant-garde hub of the early 20th century. He also engaged his former teacher, Yehuda Pen, to join the faculty. Chagall endeavored to cultivate an environment of independent artists, each fostering a distinct style. This objective, however, proved challenging as several key faculty members favored Suprematist art, characterized by squares and circles, and opposed Chagall's pursuit of "bourgeois individualism." By May 1920, Suprematists assumed control of the Academy, prompting Chagall's resignation and subsequent relocation to Moscow. Following the Suprematists' departure from the Academy, it deteriorated into an ordinary college of applied art, as other artistic movements subsequently displaced the avant-garde in Russia.
In Moscow, Chagall accepted a position as stage designer for the newly established State Jewish Chamber Theater, which commenced operations in early 1921 with a series of plays by Sholem Aleichem. For the theater's inaugural productions, he created several expansive background murals, applying techniques acquired from his early mentor, Bakst. One significant mural measured 9 feet (2.7 m) in height and 24 feet (7.3 m) in length, depicting a vibrant array of subjects including dancers, fiddlers, acrobats, and farm animals. A contemporary critic described it as "Hebrew jazz in paint." Lewis notes that Chagall conceived these murals as a "storehouse of symbols and devices." These works were considered a "landmark" in theatrical history and served as precursors to his later large-scale commissions, such as murals for the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Paris Opera.
Although the First World War concluded in 1918, the Russian Civil War persisted, leading to widespread famine. Consequently, the Chagall family found it necessary to relocate to a smaller, more economical town near Moscow, requiring Chagall to commute daily to the city via crowded trains. In 1921, he worked as an art instructor alongside his friend, sculptor Isaac Itkind, at a Jewish boys' shelter in suburban Malakhovka, which provided refuge for young orphans of pogroms. During this period, Chagall produced a series of illustrations for the Yiddish poetry cycle Grief, authored by David Hofstein, who also taught at the Malakhovka shelter.
After enduring challenging living conditions between 1921 and 1922, Chagall resolved to return to France to pursue his artistic development in a more conducive environment. This decision coincided with a broader trend of numerous other artists, writers, and musicians planning to resettle in Western Europe. While awaiting the uncertain approval of his exit visa application, he authored his autobiography, My Life.
France (1923–1941)
In 1923, Chagall departed Moscow for France. En route, he stopped in Berlin with the intention of retrieving numerous paintings he had exhibited there a decade earlier, prior to the war's commencement; however, he was unable to locate or recover any of them. Nevertheless, upon his return to Paris, he "rediscovered the free expansion and fulfillment which were so essential to him," as Lewis observes. With his early works now irretrievably lost, Chagall began to create new sketches and oil paintings, drawing inspiration from his memories of his formative years in Vitebsk.
A significant business relationship developed between Chagall and the French art dealer Ambroise Vollard, which subsequently inspired Chagall to embark on creating etchings for a series of illustrated books. These included Gogol's Dead Souls, the Bible, and La Fontaine's Fables, with these illustrations ultimately becoming recognized as his most accomplished printmaking endeavors. In 1924, Chagall traveled to Brittany, where he painted La fenêtre sur l'Île-de-Bréhat. By 1926, his inaugural exhibition in the United States took place at the Reinhardt gallery in New York, featuring approximately 100 works; however, Chagall did not attend the opening, opting instead to remain in France, "painting ceaselessly," as noted by Baal-Teshuva. Chagall's prominence within the French art world was not firmly established until 1927, when the art critic and historian Maurice Raynal included him in his publication Modern French Painters. Nevertheless, Raynal acknowledged the challenge of accurately characterizing Chagall to his readership:
Chagall interrogates life in the light of a refined, anxious, childlike sensibility, a slightly romantic temperament ... a blend of sadness and gaiety characteristic of a grave view of life. His imagination, his temperament, no doubt forbid a Latin severity of composition.
During this period, Chagall extensively toured France and the Côte d'Azur, where he found enjoyment in the landscapes, vibrant flora, the azure Mediterranean Sea, and the temperate climate. He undertook numerous excursions into the countryside, consistently carrying his sketchbook. Additionally, he visited neighboring countries, later documenting the profound impressions these travels left upon him:
I should like to recall how advantageous my travels outside France have been for me in an artistic sense—in Holland or in Spain, Italy, Egypt, Palestine, or simply in the south of France. There, in the south, for the first time in my life, I saw that rich greenness—the like of which I had never seen in my own country. In Holland I thought I discovered that familiar and throbbing light, like the light between the late afternoon and dusk. In Italy I found that peace of the museums which the sunlight brought to life. In Spain I was happy to find the inspiration of a mystical, if sometimes cruel, past, to find the song of its sky and of its people. And in the East [Palestine] I found unexpectedly the Bible and a part of my very being.
The Bible Illustrations
Upon his return to Paris from one of his journeys, Vollard commissioned Chagall to create illustrations for the Old Testament. Although the project could have been completed in France, Chagall utilized this assignment as an impetus to travel to Mandatory Palestine, seeking a personal experience of the Holy Land. In 1931, Marc Chagall and his family journeyed to Tel Aviv at the invitation of Meir Dizengoff, who had previously encouraged Chagall to Chagall and his family were hosted at Dizengoff's residence in Tel Aviv, a building that subsequently became Independence Hall of the State of Israel.
Chagall ultimately resided in the Holy Land for two months. He experienced a sense of belonging in Israel, where many inhabitants spoke Yiddish and Russian. According to Jacob Baal-Teshuva, Chagall "was impressed by the pioneering spirit of the people in the kibbutzim and deeply moved by the Wailing Wall and the other holy places."
Chagall later confided to a friend that Palestine had imparted to him "the most vivid impression he had ever received." However, Jackie Wullschlager observes that while artists like Delacroix and Matisse drew inspiration from the exoticism of North Africa, Chagall, as a Jew in Palestine, approached the region from a distinct perspective. Wullschlager posits that "What he was really searching for there was not external stimulus but an inner authorization from the land of his ancestors, to plunge into his work on the Bible illustrations." Chagall himself affirmed this, stating, "In the East I found the Bible and part of my own being."
Wullschlager observes that Chagall subsequently dedicated himself to "the history of the Jews, their trials, prophecies, and disasters." She further states that undertaking this project constituted an "extraordinary risk" for Chagall, given his established reputation as a prominent contemporary painter, as it necessitated a departure from modernist themes to explore "an ancient past." From 1931 to 1934, he engaged "obsessively" with "The Bible," even traveling to Amsterdam to meticulously examine the biblical works of Rembrandt and El Greco, seeking to comprehend the full spectrum of religious art. He also traversed the streets of the city's Jewish quarter, aiming to reconnect with its historical ambiance. He conveyed to Franz Meyer:
I did not merely perceive the Bible; I dreamt it. From my earliest years, the Bible has held me captive. It has consistently appeared, and continues to appear, as the paramount source of poetry across all epochs.
Wullschlager notes that Chagall interpreted the Old Testament as a "human story, ... focusing not on the creation of the cosmos but on the creation of man, with his angelic figures often harmonized or integrated with human forms." She highlights an early biblical depiction, "Abraham and the Three Angels," where the angels are portrayed conversing over wine, "as if they have just dropped by for dinner."
Upon his return to France, Chagall completed 32 of the 105 plates within the subsequent year. By 1939, coinciding with the outbreak of World War II, he had finished 66 plates. However, Vollard passed away in the same year. The complete series was eventually published by Edition Tériade in 1956. Baal-Teshuva asserts that "the illustrations were stunning and met with great acclaim," reaffirming Chagall's status as "one of the 20th century's most important graphic artists." Leymarie characterized these drawings by Chagall as "monumental" and,
...infused with divine inspiration, meticulously tracing the legendary destiny and epic history of Israel from Genesis to the Prophets, encompassing the Patriarchs and the Heroes. Each image merges with the depicted event, imbuing the text with a solemn intimacy unparalleled since the era of Rembrandt.
Nazi Campaigns Against Modern Art
Shortly after Chagall commenced his work on the Bible, Adolf Hitler ascended to power in Germany. Concurrently, anti-Semitic legislation was enacted, and the initial concentration camp at Dachau was established. Wullschlager details the immediate repercussions for the art world:
Immediately upon assuming power, the Nazis initiated their campaign against modernist art. This targeted Expressionist, Cubist, Abstract, and Surrealist art—essentially anything deemed intellectual, Jewish, foreign, socialist-inspired, or challenging to comprehend—ranging from Picasso and Matisse to earlier figures like Cézanne and van Gogh. In contrast, traditional German realism, characterized by its accessibility and susceptibility to patriotic interpretation, was promoted.
Commencing in 1937, approximately twenty thousand artworks were confiscated from German museums, labeled "degenerate" by a committee under Joseph Goebbels' direction. Despite earlier German press acclaim for Chagall, the new authorities derided his art, characterizing his depictions as "green, purple, and red Jews shooting out of the earth, fiddling on violins, flying through the air ... representing [an] assault on Western civilization."
Following Germany's invasion and occupation of France, the Chagalls initially stayed in Vichy France, oblivious to the fact that French Jews were being rounded up and deported to German concentration camps, with the assistance of the Vichy government, from which few survived. The collaborationist Vichy government, led by Marshal Philippe Pétain, promptly established a commission upon taking power to "redefine French citizenship," intending to revoke the nationality of "undesirables," including naturalized citizens. Chagall's intense focus on his art meant he did not grasp the unfolding events until October 1940, when the Vichy government, at the insistence of the Nazi occupying forces, began enacting anti-Semitic laws. Upon realizing that Jews were being dismissed from public and academic roles, the Chagalls finally "woke up to the danger they faced." However, Wullschlager observes that "by then they were trapped." Their sole potential sanctuary was the United States, yet "they could not afford the passage to New York" nor the substantial bond required from each immigrant upon entry to guarantee they would not become a financial liability to the nation.
Escaping Occupied France
Wullschlager observed that the rapid collapse of France, with the British-supported French army capitulating even faster than Poland had the previous year, astonished observers globally. This event sent shockwaves across the Atlantic, particularly because Paris had been widely regarded as a symbol of civilization outside the Nazi sphere. Despite the escalating crisis, the Chagalls' profound attachment to France reportedly obscured the urgency of their situation. Numerous other prominent Russian and Jewish artists eventually sought refuge, including Chaïm Soutine, Max Ernst, Max Beckmann, Ludwig Fulda, author Victor Serge, and the acclaimed writer Vladimir Nabokov, who, though not Jewish himself, was married to a Jewish woman. Russian author Victor Serge documented the diverse group of individuals temporarily residing in Marseille, awaiting emigration to the United States:
Here is a beggar's alley gathering the remnants of revolutions, democracies and crushed intellects... In our ranks are enough doctors, psychologists, engineers, educationalists, poets, painters, writers, musicians, economists and public men to vitalize a whole great country.
Prompted by their daughter Ida, who "perceived the need to act fast," and with assistance from Alfred Barr of the New York Museum of Modern Art, Chagall secured his rescue by being added to a list of endangered prominent artists whom the United States sought to extricate. Varian Fry, an American journalist, and Hiram Bingham IV, the U.S. Vice-Consul in Marseille, orchestrated a clandestine operation to facilitate the escape of artists and intellectuals from Europe to the U.S. by providing them with forged American visas. In April 1941, Chagall and his wife were divested of their French citizenship. Subsequently, the Chagalls were arrested along with other Jewish individuals while staying at the Hotel Moderne in Marseille. Varian Fry successfully pressured the French police into releasing them by threatening to expose the situation publicly. Chagall was among over 2,000 individuals rescued through this operation, departing France in May 1941, a moment Lewis describes as "almost too late." Although Picasso and Matisse also received invitations to relocate to the U.S., they chose to remain in France. On June 10, 1941, Chagall and Bella embarked from Lisbon aboard the Portuguese vessel Mouzinho. Among the passengers were 119 refugee children, to whom Chagall provided drawing lessons during the voyage. The ship arrived at Staten Island on June 21, the day preceding Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. Ida and her husband Michel subsequently followed on the notable refugee ship Navemar, transporting a substantial collection of Chagall's artworks. A serendipitous post-war encounter in a French café between Ida and intelligence analyst Konrad Kellen resulted in Kellen transporting additional paintings upon his return to the United States.
United States (1941–1948)
Prior to his arrival in the United States in 1941, Chagall had already been awarded the Carnegie Prize third prize in 1939 for "Les Fiancés". Upon settling in the U.S., he recognized his established "international stature," as noted by Cogniat, yet he felt ill-suited to this new role in an unfamiliar country where he had not yet mastered the language. He reluctantly became a public figure, experiencing a sense of disorientation within the foreign environment.
Over time, he began to acclimate to New York, a city populated by numerous writers, painters, and composers who, like him, had sought refuge from Europe during the Nazi invasions. He resided at 4 East 74th Street, frequently visiting galleries and museums, and cultivating friendships with fellow artists such as Piet Mondrian and André Breton.
Baal-Teshuva indicates that Chagall particularly enjoyed visiting New York's Jewish neighborhoods, especially the Lower East Side. In these areas, he experienced a sense of belonging, relishing Jewish cuisine and accessing the Yiddish press, which became his primary source of information due to his nascent English language skills.
Initially, contemporary artists neither comprehended nor appreciated Chagall's artistic style. According to Baal-Teshuva, "they had little in common with a folkloristic storyteller of Russo-Jewish extraction with a propensity for mysticism." The artistic movement known as the Paris School, or 'Parisian Surrealism,' held minimal significance for them. However, these perceptions began to shift when Pierre Matisse, the son of the renowned French artist Henri Matisse, assumed representation of Chagall and organized exhibitions in New York and Chicago in 1941. One of these early exhibitions featured 21 of his significant works created between 1910 and 1941. Art critic Henry McBride provided commentary on this exhibition for the New York Sun:
Chagall's artistic expression is profoundly evocative of Romani culture, and these particular works significantly enhance his reputation beyond previous achievements. His palette radiates poetic brilliance, and his oeuvre possesses an authenticity as distinctly Russian as a Volga boatman's melody.
The Aleko Ballet (1942)
Chagall received a commission from choreographer Léonide Massine of the Ballet Theatre of New York to create the set and costume designs for his new ballet, Aleko. This production adapted Alexander Pushkin's verse narrative The Gypsies, set to Tchaikovsky's music. Although initially slated for a New York premiere, the production relocated to Mexico to reduce labor expenses. While Chagall had prior experience with stage design in Russia, this marked his inaugural ballet project and provided an opportunity to During his time there, he rapidly developed an appreciation for what Cogniat describes as the "primitive ways and colorful art of the Mexicans," discovering "something very closely related to his own nature." He meticulously executed all the color detailing for the sets on-site, ultimately producing four expansive backdrops and overseeing Mexican seamstresses in the creation of the ballet costumes.
The ballet's premiere at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City on September 8, 1942, garnered "remarkable success." Notable attendees included prominent muralists such as Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, who were present to witness Chagall's contributions. Baal-Teshuva recounts that upon the conclusion of the final musical bar, "there was a tumultuous applause and 19 curtain calls, with Chagall himself being called back onto the stage again and again." Subsequently, the production transferred to New York, premiering four weeks later at the Metropolitan Opera, where it received an equally enthusiastic reception, with "again Chagall was the hero of the evening." Art critic Edwin Denby, reviewing the opening for the New York Herald Tribune, characterized Chagall's work as:
has turned into a dramatized exhibition of giant paintings... It surpasses anything Chagall has done on the easel scale, and it is a breathtaking experience, of a kind one hardly expects in the theatre.
Responding to World War II
Upon Chagall's return to New York in 1943, his artistic focus increasingly shifted towards contemporary global events, manifesting in works depicting subjects such as the Crucifixion and various war scenes. He was profoundly distressed by the news of his hometown, Vitebsk, being destroyed by German forces, and by reports of Nazi concentration camps. In a February 1944 speech, he articulated some of his sentiments:
Meanwhile, the enemy jokes, saying that we are a "stupid nation". He thought that when he started slaughtering the Jews, we would all in our grief suddenly raise the greatest prophetic scream, and would be joined by the Christian humanists. But, after two thousand years of "Christianity" in the world—say whatever you like—but, with few exceptions, their hearts are silent... I see the artists in Christian nations sit still—who has heard them speak up? They are not worried about themselves, and our Jewish life doesn't concern them.
Within the same address, he attributed the most significant efforts in saving Jewish lives to Soviet Russia, stating:
The Jews will always be grateful to it. What other great country has saved a million and a half Jews from Hitler's hands, and shared its last piece of bread? What country abolished antisemitism? What other country devoted at least a piece of land as an autonomous region for Jews who want to live there? All this, and more, weighs heavily on the scales of history.
On September 2, 1944, Bella unexpectedly succumbed to a streptococcus infection, which remained untreated at Mercy General Hospital due to wartime penicillin shortages. Consequently, Chagall ceased all artistic production for several months. Upon resuming painting, his initial works focused on commemorating Bella's memory. Wullschlager observes the profound impact on Chagall: "As news poured in through 1945 of the ongoing Holocaust at Nazi concentration camps, Bella took her place in Chagall's mind with the millions of Jewish victims." He even contemplated whether their "exile from Europe had sapped her will to live."
After residing for a year with his daughter Ida and her husband Michel Gordey, Chagall commenced a seven-year relationship with Virginia Haggard, the daughter of diplomat Godfrey Haggard and great-niece of author H. Rider Haggard. Their son, David McNeil, was born on June 22, 1946. Haggard later chronicled her "seven years of plenty" with Chagall in her 1986 book, My Life with Chagall (Robert Hale).
Several months after the Allied forces liberated Paris from Nazi occupation, Chagall published a letter titled "To the Paris Artists" in a Parisian weekly publication.
In recent years, I have been distressed by my inability to be with you, my friends. My adversary compelled me into exile, a tragic path where I lost my wife, my life's companion and inspiration. I wish to convey to my friends in France that she joins me in this salutation, she who so faithfully cherished France and French art. Her final joy was the liberation of Paris... Now, with Paris liberated and French art resurrected, the entire world will, definitively, be free from the satanic adversaries who sought to annihilate not only the body but also the soul—the soul, without which life and artistic creativity are impossible.
Post-War Years
By 1946, Chagall's art achieved broader recognition. The Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted a major exhibition showcasing four decades of his work, offering visitors one of the initial comprehensive insights into the evolving character of his artistic output. With the war concluded, he initiated plans to return to Paris. Cogniat observed that Chagall "found he was even more deeply attached than before, not only to the atmosphere of Paris, but to the city itself, to its houses and its views." Chagall summarized his period in the United States as follows:
I resided in America during an inhumane war where humanity abandoned itself... I observed the rhythm of life. I witnessed America's engagement with its Allies... the resources it allocated to provide relief for those who endured the war's consequences... I appreciate America and Americans... its people are candid. It is a nascent nation possessing both the virtues and imperfections of youth. It is a pleasure to cherish such individuals... Above all, I am profoundly impressed by this country's grandeur and the liberty it bestows.
Chagall permanently returned to France in the autumn of 1947, attending the opening of an exhibition of his works at the Musée National d'Art Moderne.
France (1948–1985)
Upon his return to France, Chagall traveled across Europe before settling on the Côte d'Azur, which had by then evolved into a notable artistic hub. Matisse resided near Saint-Paul-de-Vence, approximately seven miles west of Nice, while Picasso lived in Vallauris. Despite their proximity and occasional collaborations, an artistic rivalry persisted due to their distinctly different styles, preventing them from forming lasting friendships. Nevertheless, according to Picasso's mistress, Françoise Gilot, Picasso maintained significant respect for Chagall, once remarking to her:
Upon Matisse's passing, Chagall will remain the sole painter who truly comprehends color... His canvases are genuinely crafted, not merely assembled. Some of his recent works in Vence persuade me that no artist since Renoir has possessed Chagall's profound understanding of light.
In April 1952, Virginia Haggard departed from Chagall to be with photographer Charles Leirens, subsequently establishing her own career as a professional photographer.
Chagall's daughter, Ida, married art historian Franz Meyer in January 1952. Believing her father lacked female companionship, she introduced him to Valentina (Vava) Brodsky, a woman of similar Russian Jewish heritage who had managed a successful millinery business in London. Brodsky initially served as his secretary, agreeing to remain only if Chagall married her after several months. Their marriage occurred in July 1952. However, six years later, amidst conflict between Ida and Vava, "Marc and Vava divorced and immediately remarried under an agreement more favourable to Vava" (Jean-Paul Crespelle, author of Chagall, l'Amour le Reve et la Vie, as cited in Haggard: My Life with Chagall).
In 1954, Chagall was initially commissioned as the set decorator for Robert Helpmann's production of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Le Coq d'Or at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; however, he subsequently withdrew. The Australian designer Loudon Sainthill was then engaged as a last-minute replacement.
Subsequently, Chagall expanded his artistic output beyond paintings and graphic art to encompass a diverse range of sculptures and ceramics, such as wall tiles, painted vases, plates, and jugs. Concurrently, he ventured into large-scale artistic endeavors, creating extensive murals, stained glass windows, mosaics, and tapestries.
The Paris Opera Ceiling (1963)
In 1963, Marc Chagall received a commission to paint a new ceiling for the Paris Opera (Palais Garnier), a distinguished 19th-century edifice recognized as a national monument. André Malraux, then France's Minister of Culture, sought a distinctive artistic contribution and identified Chagall as the optimal choice. Nevertheless, this selection generated considerable controversy. Objections arose from various factions: some opposed the idea of a Russian Jew adorning a French national monument, while others disapproved of a modern artist undertaking work on a historic building's ceiling. Several publications published disparaging articles concerning both Chagall and Malraux, prompting Chagall to remark to a writer:
They harbored significant animosity towards me... The French resentment of foreigners is astonishing. One can reside here for the majority of their life, become a naturalized French citizen, and even contribute gratuitously to the decoration of their cathedrals, yet still face their disdain. You are never truly considered one of them.
Despite the opposition, Chagall proceeded with the project, which required a full year for the 77-year-old artist to finalize. The completed canvas spanned nearly 2,400 square feet (220 sq. meters) and necessitated 440 pounds (200 kg) of paint. Comprising five sections, the artwork was affixed to polyester panels before being elevated to the 70-foot (21 m) ceiling. The imagery depicted on the canvas honored composers such as Mozart, Wagner, Mussorgsky, Berlioz, and Ravel, alongside renowned actors and dancers.
The artwork was publicly unveiled on September 23, 1964, attended by Malraux and 2,100 invited dignitaries. The Paris correspondent for The New York Times observed, "For once the best seats were in the uppermost circle." Baal-Teshuva further elaborates:
Initially, the grand crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling's center remained unilluminated... Subsequently, the entire corps de ballet appeared on stage, followed by the opera's orchestra performing the finale of Mozart's "Jupiter Symphony"—Chagall's preferred composer—in his honor. As the final measures of the music concluded, the chandelier illuminated, revealing the artist's ceiling painting in its full splendor and eliciting enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Following the unveiling of the new ceiling, "even the most fervent detractors of the commission appeared to be silenced," as noted by Baal-Teshuva. "The press unanimously hailed Chagall's new creation as a significant contribution to French culture." Malraux subsequently commented, "Which other contemporary artist could have executed the Paris Opera ceiling with such distinction as Chagall?... He stands preeminent among the great colorists of our era... numerous of his canvases and the Opera ceiling itself embody sublime imagery that ranks among the most exquisite poetry of our time, akin to Titian's contributions in his own period." In his address to the audience, Chagall elucidated the artwork's significance:
Within my painting above, my intention was to mirror, akin to a reflection within a bouquet, the aspirations and artistic endeavors of the singers and musicians, to evoke the dynamic movement of the vibrantly dressed audience below, and to pay homage to the eminent composers of opera and ballet... I now present this work as a gesture of gratitude to France and its École de Paris, without which neither color nor freedom would exist.
Artistic Styles and Techniques
Color Palette
Cogniat asserts that throughout all phases of Chagall's artistic career, his distinctive use of color consistently captivated and engaged viewers. In his formative years, the chromatic range was constrained by a pronounced emphasis on form, ensuring his compositions never resembled mere painted sketches. Cogniat further elaborates: "The colors constitute a vibrant, intrinsic component of the artwork, never appearing passively flat or as a mundane afterthought. They sculpt and imbue the forms with vitality... they engage in imaginative and inventive explorations that introduce novel perspectives and nuanced, harmonized tones... His colors do not endeavor to replicate nature but rather to evoke motion, spatial dimensions, and rhythmic qualities."
Chagall demonstrated a remarkable capacity to evoke powerful imagery using a limited palette of two or three colors. Cogniat asserts that "Chagall is unrivalled in this ability to give a vivid impression of explosive movement with the simplest use of colors..." Throughout his career, his distinctive use of color consistently generated a "vibrant atmosphere," reflecting "his own personal vision."
Subject Matter
From Biographical Recollections to Fantastical Depictions
Goodman observes that Chagall's formative years in Russia endowed him with a "powerful visual memory and a pictorial intelligence." Subsequent immersion in France's artistically liberated environment allowed his "vision [to soar] and he created a new reality, one that drew on both his inner and outer worlds." Nevertheless, the imagery and recollections from his early Russian experiences remained a foundational and enduring influence on his artistic output for over seven decades.
Cogniat identifies several enduring elements consistently present throughout Chagall's artistic career, notably his selection and portrayal of subjects. "The most obviously constant element is his gift for happiness and his instinctive compassion, which even in the most serious subjects prevents him from dramatization..." Musicians, for instance, constituted a recurring motif across all phases of his work. Following his marriage, his art frequently depicted "lovers [who] have sought each other, embraced, caressed, floated through the air, met in wreaths of flowers, stretched, and swooped like the melodious passage of their vivid day-dreams." Similarly, "Acrobats contort themselves with the grace of exotic flowers on the end of their stems; flowers and foliage abound everywhere." Wullschlager elucidates the origins of these visual themes:
Chagall perceived clowns and acrobats as analogous to figures found in religious iconography. The progression of his circus-themed works indicates a progressive darkening of his perspective, with circus performers eventually yielding to the prophet or sage archetype in his art. This figure became a vessel for Chagall's anxieties as Europe descended into turmoil, diminishing his reliance on the lumiére-liberté of France as a source of creative impetus.
Chagall articulated his profound affection for circus performers:
He questioned, "Why am I so touched by their makeup and grimaces? With them I can move toward new horizons..." He further noted, "Chaplin seeks to do in film what I am trying to do in my paintings. He is perhaps the only artist today I could get along with without having to say a single word."
Chagall's initial artworks frequently depicted Vitebsk, his birthplace and childhood home. Cogniat observes that these early pieces possess a realistic quality, conveying a sense of direct experience by encapsulating specific moments with dynamic, often dramatic, imagery. In his later period, exemplified by the "Bible series," the subject matter became more overtly dramatic. Chagall skillfully merged reality with fantasy, and this, combined with his distinctive color usage, ensured his paintings were consistently compelling, if not profoundly impactful. He consistently eschewed pure realism, instead crafting his atmospheric compositions through fantastical elements. Ultimately, Chagall's "most persistent subject is life itself, in its simplicity or its hidden complexity... He presents for our study places, people, and objects from his own life."
Jewish Themes
Having assimilated the methodologies of Fauvism and Cubism, influenced by Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes, Chagall successfully integrated these stylistic approaches with his inherent folk aesthetic. Goodman notes that he imbued the austere existence of Hasidic Jews with "romantic overtones of a charmed world." This synthesis of Modernist principles with his "unique artistic language" garnered significant recognition from critics and collectors across Europe. Fundamentally, his upbringing in a Belarusian provincial town provided a perpetual wellspring of imaginative inspiration. Chagall emerged as one of numerous Jewish émigrés who subsequently achieved prominence as artists, all of whom, as Goodman points out, had similarly belonged to "Russia's most numerous and creative minorities."
World War I, which concluded in 1918, led to the displacement of nearly a million Jews and the destruction of most of the remaining provincial shtetl culture that had characterized the lives of most Eastern European Jews for centuries. Goodman observes, "The fading of traditional Jewish society left artists like Chagall with powerful memories that could no longer be fed by a tangible reality. Instead, that culture became an emotional and intellectual source that existed solely in memory and the imagination... So rich had the experience been, it sustained him for the rest of his life." Sweeney further notes that "if you ask Chagall to explain his paintings, he would reply, 'I don't understand them at all. They are not literature. They are only pictorial arrangements of images that obsess me..."
In 1948, upon his return to France from the United States following the war, he personally witnessed the devastation inflicted upon Europe and its Jewish communities by the conflict. In 1951, contributing to a memorial volume honoring eighty-four Jewish artists murdered by the Nazis in France, he composed a poem titled "For the Slaughtered Artists: 1950," which subsequently influenced works like the Song of David.
I see the fire, the smoke and the gas; rising to the blue cloud, turning it black. I see the torn-out hair, the pulled-out teeth. They overwhelm me with my rabid palette. I stand in the desert before heaps of boots, clothing, ash and dung, and mumble my Kaddish. And as I stand—from my paintings, the painted David descends to me, harp in hand. He wants to help me weep and recite chapters of Psalms.
Lewis asserts that Chagall "remains the most important visual artist to have borne witness to the world of East European Jewry... and inadvertently became the public witness of a now vanished civilization." Despite Judaism's religious proscriptions against pictorial representations of numerous sacred subjects, Chagall skillfully employed his fantastical imagery as a visual metaphor, integrating it with folk motifs. For instance, his work "Fiddler on the Roof" merges a rustic village backdrop with the figure of a fiddler, symbolizing the profound significance of music to the Jewish spirit.
Music significantly influenced the thematic content of his oeuvre. Although he later developed an appreciation for the compositions of Bach and Mozart, his formative years were primarily shaped by the musical traditions of the Hasidic community in which he grew up. Art historian Franz Meyer posits that a primary factor contributing to the distinctive character of Chagall's art stems from Hasidism, which profoundly influenced his childhood and youth, and had permeated the culture of most Eastern European Jews since the 18th century. Meyer writes, "For Chagall this is one of the deepest sources, not of inspiration, but of a certain spiritual attitude... the hassidic spirit is still the basis and source of nourishment of his art." During a 1963 lecture delivered in the United States, Chagall elaborated on these formative influences.
Chagall maintained a multifaceted relationship with Judaism. He acknowledged his Russian Jewish cultural heritage as fundamental to his artistic vision. Despite his ambivalence toward his religious faith, he consistently drew upon his Jewish heritage for artistic inspiration. Although not a practicing Jew in adulthood, he continually sought to convey a more "universal message" through his paintings and stained glass, incorporating both Jewish and Christian motifs.
For about two thousand years a reserve of energy has fed and supported us, and filled our lives, but during the last century a split has opened in this reserve, and its components have begun to disintegrate: God, perspective, colour, the Bible, shape, line, traditions, the so-called humanities, love, devotion, family, school, education, the prophets and Christ himself. Have I too, perhaps, doubted in my time? I painted pictures upside down, decapitated people and dissected them, scattering the pieces in the air, all in the name of another perspective, another kind of picture composition and another formalism.
Chagall also deliberately sought to broaden the interpretation of his work beyond an exclusively Jewish context. During the inauguration of The Chagall Museum in Nice, he declared, 'My painting represents not the dream of one people but of all humanity'.
Stained Glass
Marc Chagall's significant contributions to art include his extensive work with stained glass. This medium provided an additional avenue for him to realize his ambition of creating vibrant and novel colors, further enhanced by the dynamic interplay of natural light and refraction. The visual impact of these works was constantly modulated by external factors, ranging from the viewer's position to prevailing weather conditions, though this variability did not apply to his Hadassah windows. His inaugural major stained glass commission, undertaken in 1956 at nearly 70 years of age, involved designing windows for the Église Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce du Plateau d'Assy. This project was initiated at the request of Father Couturier, a monk recognized for revitalizing religious art in France. Subsequently, from 1958 to 1960, Chagall produced windows for Metz Cathedral. This endeavor was a collaborative effort with glassmaker Charles Marq, and their discussions primarily focused on how natural lighting variations could transform the artwork.
Jerusalem Windows (1962)
In 1960, Chagall commenced the creation of stained glass windows for the synagogue located within the Hebrew University's Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. According to Leymarie, the decision to incorporate stained glass into the twelve windows, which symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, aimed to "illuminate the synagogue both spiritually and physically." Chagall conceptualized the synagogue as "a crown offered to the Jewish Queen," with the windows serving as "jewels of translucent fire," as Leymarie further notes. Chagall dedicated the subsequent two years to this project, and upon its completion in 1961, the windows were exhibited in Paris and subsequently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Their permanent installation in Jerusalem occurred in February 1962. Each of the twelve windows measures approximately 11 feet in height and 8 feet (2.4 m) in width, representing a scale significantly larger than his previous works. Cogniat regards these windows as "his greatest work in the field of stained glass," although Virginia Haggard McNeil documented Chagall's disappointment that they would be illuminated by artificial light, thereby precluding the dynamic changes observed under natural light conditions.
French philosopher Gaston Bachelard observed that "Chagall reads the Bible and suddenly the passages become light." In 1973, Israel issued a 12-stamp set featuring images of these stained-glass windows.
The windows symbolically represent the twelve tribes of Israel, who received blessings from Jacob and Moses in the concluding verses of Genesis and Deuteronomy. Leymarie elucidates that in these biblical texts, "The dying Moses repeated Jacob's solemn act and, in a somewhat different order, also blessed the twelve tribes of Israel who were about to enter the land of Canaan... In the synagogue, where the windows are distributed in the same way, the tribes form a symbolic guard of honor around the tabernacle." Leymarie further elaborates on the profound physical and spiritual significance of the windows:
The essence of the Jerusalem Windows lies in color, in Chagall's magical ability to animate material and transform it into light. Words do not have the power to describe Chagall's color, its spirituality, its singing quality, its dazzling luminosity, its ever more subtle flow, and its sensitivity to the inflections of the soul and the transports of the imagination. It is simultaneously jewel-hard and foamy, reverberating and penetrating, radiating light from an unknown interior.
During the dedication ceremony in 1962, Chagall articulated his sentiments regarding the windows:
For me a stained glass window is a transparent partition between my heart and the heart of the world. Stained glass has to be serious and passionate. It is something elevating and exhilarating. It has to live through the perception of light. To read the Bible is to perceive a certain light, and the window has to make this obvious through its simplicity and grace... The thoughts have nested in me for many years, since the time when my feet walked on the Holy Land, when I prepared myself to create engravings of the Bible. They strengthened me and encouraged me to bring my modest gift to the Jewish people—that people that lived here thousands of years ago, among the other Semitic peoples.
Peace, United Nations building (1964)
In 1964, Chagall designed a stained-glass window, titled Peace, for the United Nations, commemorating Dag Hammarskjöld, the organization's second secretary-general, who died in a 1961 airplane crash in Northern Rhodesia. This window, approximately 15 feet (4.6 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) high, incorporates symbols of peace, love, and musical motifs. Chagall's personal handwritten dedication states:
À tous ceux qui ont servi les buts et principes de la Charte des Nations Unies et pour lesquels Dag Hammarskjöld a donné sa vie.
To all who served the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations Charter, for which Dag Hammarskjöld gave his life
Good Samaritan, Union Church of Pocantico Hills (1964)
In 1967, Chagall dedicated a stained-glass window to John D. Rockefeller at the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, New York.
Fraumünster in Zurich, Switzerland (1967)
The Fraumünster church in Zurich, Switzerland, established in 853, is renowned for its five expansive stained-glass windows, which Chagall completed in 1967. Each window measures 32 feet (9.8 m) in height and 3 feet (0.91 m) in width. Religious historian James H. Charlesworth observes the remarkable presence of Christian symbolism in the creations of an artist originating from a stringent Orthodox Jewish heritage. He posits that Chagall's Russian background frequently led him to incorporate Russian icons, with their distinct interpretations of Christian symbols, into his artwork. Charlesworth further clarifies that Chagall's thematic selections typically stemmed from biblical narratives, often illustrating the "obedience and suffering of God's chosen people." A specific panel portrays Moses receiving the Torah, emanating rays of light from his head, while another panel prominently features a depiction of Jesus' crucifixion at its apex.
St Stephan's Church in Mainz, Germany (1978)
In 1978, Chagall commenced the creation of windows for St Stephan's Church in Mainz, Germany. Currently, the church attracts 200,000 annual visitors, with the city's official information noting that "tourists from the whole world pilgrim up St Stephan's Mount, to see the glowing blue stained glass windows by the artist Marc Chagall." It further emphasizes that "St Stephan's is the only German church for which Chagall has created windows."
Official sources also highlight Monsignor Klaus Mayer's perspective, who disseminates Chagall's oeuvre through meditations and publications, stating: "The colours address our vital consciousness directly, because they tell of optimism, hope and delight in life." Mayer engaged in correspondence with Chagall in 1973, successfully convincing the "master of colour and the biblical message" to produce a symbol of Jewish-Christian affinity and global understanding. Historian John Man observes that centuries prior, Mainz served as "the capital of European Jewry," hosting the continent's largest Jewish community. In 1978, at 91 years old, Chagall completed the initial window, with eight subsequent installations. Charles Marq, Chagall's collaborator, augmented the project by incorporating additional stained-glass windows that utilized Chagall's characteristic color palette.
All Saints Church, Tudeley, UK (1963–1978)
All Saints Church in Tudeley holds the distinction of being the sole church globally where all twelve windows feature Chagall's artistry. Three other religious edifices possess comprehensive collections of Chagall's windows: the Hadassah Medical Center synagogue, the Chapel of Le Saillant in Limousin, and the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, New York.
The Tudeley windows were commissioned by Sir Henry and Lady Rosemary d'Avigdor-Goldsmid as a commemorative tribute to their daughter Sarah, who tragically died at age 21 in a 1963 sailing accident near Rye. Upon his arrival for the dedication of the east window in 1967, Chagall's initial encounter with the church prompted him to exclaim, "C'est magnifique! Je les ferai tous!" ("It's beautiful! I will do them all!"). Subsequently, over the following decade, Chagall designed the remaining eleven windows, again collaborating with glassworker Charles Marq at his Reims workshop in northern France. The final windows were installed in 1985, shortly preceding Chagall's passing.
Chichester Cathedral, West Sussex, UK
A stained-glass window, conceived and executed by Chagall at the age of 90, is situated on the north side of Chichester Cathedral. This window, representing his final commissioned work, drew inspiration from Psalm 150, specifically the verse 'Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord,' a suggestion put forth by Dean Walter Hussey. The Duchess of Kent unveiled the window in 1978.
America Windows, Chicago
Chagall traveled to Chicago in the early 1970s for the installation of his mural The Four Seasons, and subsequently conceived the idea of creating a set of stained glass windows for the Art Institute of Chicago. Following consultations with the Art Institute and subsequent deliberation, Chagall dedicated the windows as a tribute to the American Bicentennial, specifically honoring the United States' commitment to cultural and religious freedom. The windows were notably featured in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Between 2005 and 2010, the windows were relocated to accommodate construction of a new wing at the Art Institute and for comprehensive archival cleaning.
Diverse Artistic Mediums
Mural Painting, Theatrical Scenography, and Costume Design
Chagall commenced his engagement with stage design in 1914 during his residency in Russia, influenced by the theatrical designer and artist Léon Bakst. During this era in Russian theatre, conventional notions of stage design were, as noted by Cogniat, "being swept away in favor of a wholly arbitrary sense of space with different dimensions, perspectives, colors and rhythms." These transformative shifts resonated with Chagall, who, having experimented with Cubism, sought methods to imbue his imagery with greater dynamism. Through the creation of murals and stage designs, Cogniat observed that Chagall's "dreams sprang to life and became an actual movement."
Consequently, Chagall assumed a significant role in Russian artistic circles of that period, being recognized as "one of the most important forces in the current urge towards anti-realism," a movement instrumental in fostering "astonishing" artistic innovations within the nascent Russian cultural landscape. A substantial portion of his designs were commissioned by the Jewish Theatre in Moscow, which staged numerous Jewish plays by dramatists including Gogol and Synge. Chagall's scenography was pivotal in establishing the illusory atmospheres that constituted the core of these theatrical productions.
Following his departure from Russia, two decades elapsed before Chagall received another opportunity to design theatrical sets. During this interim period, his canvases frequently depicted harlequins, clowns, and acrobats, elements that, as Cogniat observes, "convey his sentimental attachment to and nostalgia for the theatre." His inaugural post-Russian set design commission was for the ballet "Aleko" in 1942, during his residence in the United States. In 1945, he also received a commission to create the sets and costumes for Stravinsky's Firebird. These contributions significantly elevated his artistic standing in the United States, and as of 2013, these designs remain part of the New York City Ballet's repertoire.
Cogniat characterizes Chagall's designs as immersing "the spectator in a luminous, colored fairy-land where forms are mistily defined and the spaces themselves seem animated with whirlwinds or explosions." This distinctive application of theatrical color culminated upon Chagall's return to Paris in 1958, when he conceived the sets for Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé.
In 1964, Chagall undertook the repainting of the Paris Opera ceiling, utilizing 2,400 square feet (220 m2) of canvas. He also created two monumental murals, installed on opposing walls of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York, which inaugurated in 1966. These works, titled The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music, span from the uppermost balcony to the Grand Tier lobby. They were fabricated in France, transported to New York, and are protected by a panel system during periods of direct sunlight exposure to mitigate fading. Additionally, he conceived the sets and costumes for a new production of Die Zauberflöte for the company, which premiered in February 1967 and remained in use until the 1981/1982 season.
Tapestry Design
Chagall extended his artistic practice to tapestry design, with his works woven under the supervision of Yvette Cauquil-Prince, a collaborator also known for her work with Picasso. These textile artworks are considerably scarcer than his paintings, with only approximately 40 examples having entered the commercial market. For the state hall of the Knesset in Israel, Chagall created three tapestries, in addition to 12 floor mosaics and a singular wall mosaic.
Ceramics and Sculptural Works
Chagall commenced his exploration of ceramics and sculpture during his residency in southern France. Ceramic art gained significant popularity along the Côte d'Azur, leading to the establishment of numerous workshops in Antibes, Vence, and Vallauris. He participated in classes alongside notable artists such as Picasso and Fernand Léger. Initially, Chagall applied paint to pre-existing pottery forms; however, he soon progressed to designing his own pieces, thereby initiating his sculptural practice as a complementary dimension to his painting.
Following initial explorations in pottery and dishware, he transitioned to creating expansive ceramic murals. Nevertheless, he consistently expressed dissatisfaction with the constraints inherent in square tile segments, which Cogniat observed "imposed on him a discipline that impeded the formation of a plastic image."
Concluding Years and Demise
Author Serena Davies observes that by his death in France in 1985, as the final surviving master of European modernism, having outlived Joan Miró by two years, Chagall had personally encountered the profound aspirations and devastating setbacks of the Russian Revolution. Furthermore, he had witnessed the dissolution of the Pale of Settlement, the near extermination of European Jewry, and the complete destruction of his hometown, Vitebsk, where only 118 individuals from a population of 240,000 survived the Second World War.
Chagall's ultimate artistic endeavor was a commissioned work for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Although the maquette painting, titled Job, had been finalized, Chagall passed away just prior to the tapestry's completion. Yvette Cauquil-Prince, who was weaving the tapestry under Chagall's direct supervision, was the last individual to collaborate with him. She departed from Vava and Marc Chagall's residence at 4 p.m. on March 28, following a discussion and final color matching for the tapestry based on the maquette painting; he died later that same evening.
Davies characterizes his connection to his Jewish identity as "unresolved and tragic." He would have been interred without Jewish rites had a Jewish stranger not volunteered to recite the Kaddish, the traditional Jewish prayer for the deceased, over his coffin. Chagall rests beside his final wife, Valentina "Vava" Brodsky Chagall, in the multi-denominational cemetery located in the historic artists' town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, within the French region of Provence.
Gallery
Catalogue Raisonné
An ongoing online catalogue raisonné dedicated to the artist commenced in 2019, spearheaded by the Association des Amis de Marc Chagall under Ambre Gauthier's direction, in collaboration with the Archives Marc et Ida Chagall and the Marc Chagall Committee. Its digital release started in 2023, featuring Marc Chagall's 97 sculptures, followed by the inclusion of his 350 ceramic works in 2024.
Legacy and Impact
Jackie Wullschlager, Chagall's biographer, commends him as "a pioneer of modern art and one of its greatest figurative painters," asserting that he "invented a visual language that recorded the thrill and terror of the twentieth century." She further elaborates:
On his canvases we read the triumph of modernism, the breakthrough in art to an expression of inner life that ... is one of the last century's signal legacies. At the same time Chagall was personally swept up in the horrors of European history between 1914 and 1945: world wars, revolution, ethnic persecution, the murder and exile of millions. In an age when many major artists fled reality for abstraction, he distilled his experiences of suffering and tragedy into images at once immediate, simple, and symbolic to which everyone could respond.
Art historians Ingo Walther and Rainer Metzger characterize Chagall as a "poet, dreamer, and exotic apparition." They further note that throughout his extensive career, the "role of outsider and artistic eccentric" was intrinsic to his persona, as he appeared to function as an intermediary across various domains: "as a Jew with a lordly disdain for the ancient ban on image-making; as a Russian who went beyond the realm of familiar self-sufficiency; or the son of poor parents, growing up in a large and needy family." Despite these origins, he successfully established himself within the refined milieu of "elegant artistic salons."
Leveraging his imagination and vivid recollections, Chagall consistently incorporated characteristic motifs and themes into the majority of his oeuvre, including village scenes, depictions of peasant life, and intimate portrayals of the Jewish village, or shtetl. His serene figures and unadorned gestures contributed to a "monumental sense of dignity," transforming quotidian Jewish rituals into a "timeless realm of iconic peacefulness." Leymarie asserts that Chagall "transcended the limits of his century," revealing "possibilities unsuspected by an art that had lost touch with the Bible," thereby achieving "a wholly new synthesis of Jewish culture long ignored by painting." Leymarie further notes that while Chagall's art defies strict religious categorization, his "most moving and original contributions," which he termed "his message," derive from religious, and more specifically, Biblical sources.
Walther and Metzger endeavor to encapsulate Chagall's artistic contributions.
Chagall's life and artistic output collectively forged the persona of a solitary visionary, a global citizen retaining childlike innocence, and an individual perpetually captivated by wonder—an image meticulously cultivated by the artist himself. Characterized by profound religiosity and an ardent patriotism, his oeuvre arguably constitutes modernity's most compelling plea for tolerance and the recognition of diversity.
André Malraux lauded Chagall, stating: "[Chagall] stands as this century's preeminent image-maker, having perceived our world through the lens of freedom and depicted it with the hues of love."
The Art Market
In 2017, a 1928 oil painting by Chagall, titled Les Amoureux, which measures 117.3 x 90.5 cm and portrays Bella Rosenfeld, the artist's first wife, alongside his adopted city of Paris, achieved a sale price of $28.5 million (inclusive of fees) at Sotheby's New York on November 14. This transaction nearly doubled Chagall's previous auction record of $14.85 million, established 27 years prior.
In October 2010, Chagall's painting Bestiaire et Musique, which illustrates a bride and a fiddler suspended in a nocturnal sky amidst circus performers and animals, emerged as the premier lot at a Hong Kong auction. Its sale for $4.1 million established it as the most valuable contemporary Western painting ever sold in Asia at that time.
Nazi-Looted Art and Restitution Claims
The initial legal proceeding in the United States concerning Nazi-looted art pertained to a Chagall painting, known by several titles including L'Echelle de Jacob, Le Paysan et l'Echelle, The Peasant and the Ladder, or Jacob's Ladder. This artwork was confiscated in 1941 from the Menzel family's Brussels apartment by the Einsatzstab Rosenberg (ERR), a Nazi looting organization, following the family's flight from Nazi persecution. In 1969, Erna Menzel, the widow, initiated a lawsuit against American art collector Albert A. List, who had acquired the painting from Perls Galleries in New York in 1955. The court, in the case of Menzel v. List, ruled in favor of Menzel, awarding her the Chagall painting and mandating that Klaus Perls compensate List for the artwork's appreciated value.
In 2013, previously undocumented works by Chagall were uncovered within a cache of artworks concealed by Hildebrand Gurlitt, the son of one of Hitler's art dealers. Among these, Chagall's Allegorical Scene was identified as originating from the collection of Savely Blumestein.
In 2022, France repatriated The Father (Le Père) to the descendants of David Cender, a Polish-Jewish violin maker and luthier who survived Auschwitz, where his wife and daughter perished. The French culture ministry reported that Chagall had reacquired his own painting post-war, unaware of its prior provenance, before its donation to the French national collections in 1988.
In February 2024, the New York Times disclosed that the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York had discreetly restituted Chagall's Over Vitebsk to the heirs of Franz Matthiesen in 2021. This restitution reportedly included a $4 million payment to the museum. The painting's provenance was contentious, having previously transited through the Nazi dealer Kurt Feldhausser and the Wehye Gallery.
Theater
During the 1990s, Daniel Jamieson authored The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, a theatrical work exploring the lives of Chagall and his partner Bella. The play has undergone several revivals, with the most recent occurring in 2020 under the direction of Emma Rice. This production was live-streamed from the Bristol Old Vic and subsequently offered for on-demand viewing through collaborations with international theaters. Marc Antolin portrayed Chagall, and Audrey Brisson depicted Bella Chagall in this rendition. Produced amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire crew was required to quarantine collectively to facilitate the live performance and broadcast.
In 2022, James Sherman penned Chagall in School, a play focusing on Chagall's tenure as head of the Vitebsk Art College. The production debuted in Chicago at Theatre Wit, directed by Georgette Verdin for the Grippo Theatre Company. John Drea assumed the role of Chagall, while Yourtana Sulaiman portrayed Berta (Bella) Chagall. The play garnered positive reception, notably with designer Erin Pleake receiving a Non-Equity Jeff Award for Projection Design.
Exhibitions and Commemorations
Throughout his lifetime, Chagall was bestowed with numerous accolades:
- In 1960, Brandeis University conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree upon Marc Chagall during its ninth Commencement ceremony.
- The city of Jerusalem conferred the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award upon him in 1977.
- Concurrently in 1977, the French government presented him with its most distinguished accolade, the Grand-Croix de la Legion d'honneur.
- In 1974, he was inducted as a member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.
- A 1963 Documentary
The 1963 short documentary, Chagall, focused on Chagall and received the 1964 Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary.
- Commemorative Postage Stamps
Due to his widespread international recognition and the broad appeal of his artwork, several nations have released commemorative stamps honoring him, which feature selections from his oeuvre. In 1963, France issued a stamp showcasing his painting, The Married Couple of the Eiffel Tower. Subsequently, in 1969, Israel produced a stamp illustrating his King David painting. In 1973, Israel further released a set of twelve stamps displaying images of the stained-glass windows he designed for the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center Synagogue, with each window symbolizing one of the "Twelve Tribes of Israel."
To commemorate the centennial of Chagall's birth in 1987, seven nations participated in a distinctive omnibus program, issuing postage stamps in his honor. Initially, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, The Gambia, Grenada, and Grenada Grenadines collectively issued 48 stamps and 10 souvenir sheets. Subsequently, Ghana and Sierra Leone released sets comprising four stamps and one souvenir sheet each. While these stamps uniformly depict his diverse masterpieces, the specific titles of the artworks are not indicated on the stamps.
- Exhibitions
Numerous significant exhibitions of Chagall's oeuvre were organized both during his lifetime and posthumously.
- In 1967, the Louvre in Paris presented an exhibition titled "Message Biblique," featuring 17 large-scale paintings and 38 gouaches, which Chagall had bequeathed to France on the stipulation that a dedicated museum be constructed for them in Nice. Construction of this museum, designated as the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall, commenced in 1969. Its completion and inauguration occurred on July 7, 1973, coinciding with Chagall's birthday. Presently, the museum houses monumental paintings exploring biblical themes, three stained-glass windows, tapestries, a substantial mosaic, and a collection of gouaches from the "Bible series."
- Between 1969 and 1970, the Grand Palais in Paris hosted the most extensive Chagall exhibition up to that point, encompassing 474 works. Titled "Hommage a Marc Chagall," the exhibition was inaugurated by the French President and garnered significant critical and public acclaim.
- In 1971, the Dynamic Museum in Dakar, Senegal, organized an exhibition showcasing his work.
- In 1973, Chagall undertook a journey to the Soviet Union, marking his initial return since his departure in 1922. The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow arranged a special exhibition to coincide with his visit. During this trip, he revisited the murals he had previously created for the Jewish Theatre. Furthermore, in Leningrad, he reconnected with two of his sisters, whom he had not encountered in over five decades.
- The Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden, curated a retrospective exhibition in 1982, which subsequently toured Denmark.
- In 1985, the Royal Academy in London hosted a significant retrospective, which subsequently moved to Philadelphia. Chagall, due to advanced age, was unable to attend the London opening and passed away several months thereafter.
- From January 15 to April 11, 1999, the Fundación Juan March in Madrid presented Marc Chagall. Jewish Traditions, an exhibition featuring paintings and other oil works produced between 1909 and 1976. This exhibition subsequently toured to the Fundació Caixa Catalunya in Barcelona, where it was on display from April 26 to July 4, 1999.
- A comprehensive retrospective of Chagall's career was jointly organized in 2003 by the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris, in collaboration with the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
- An exhibition of Chagall's work, titled "Chagall of Miracles," was presented at Il Complesso del Vittoriano in Rome, Italy, in 2007.
- The regional art museum in Novosibirsk hosted a Chagall exhibition focusing on his biblical subjects from June 16 to August 29, 2010.
- In 2011, the Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme in Paris featured a Chagall exhibition titled "Chagall and the Bible."
- The Luxembourg Museum in Paris mounted a Chagall retrospective in 2013.
- The Jewish Museum in New York City has hosted several exhibitions dedicated to Chagall, notably "Marc Chagall: Early Works from Russian Collections" in 2001 and "Chagall: Love, War and Exile" in 2013.
- Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt presented "World in Turmoil," an exhibition featuring paintings from the 1930s and 1940s, from November 4, 2022, to February 19, 2023.
- Current Exhibitions and Permanent Displays
- Chagall's artworks are permanently exhibited in numerous venues, including the Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chase Tower Plaza in downtown Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, Metz Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Reims, Fraumünster Abbey in Zürich, Switzerland, the Church of St. Stephan in Mainz, Germany, and the Musée Marc Chagall in Nice, France, which he contributed to designing.
- All Saints Church in the small village of Tudeley, Kent, England, is unique as the sole church globally to possess a complete collection of Chagall's stained-glass windows.
- Twelve stained-glass windows, each illustrating a distinct tribe, are installed at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, Israel.
- Within the United States, the Union Church of Pocantico Hills houses a series of Chagall windows commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr., which commemorate the prophets.
- Lincoln Center in New York City features Chagall's monumental murals; The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music are situated in the lobby of the new Metropolitan Opera House, which commenced operations in 1966. Additionally, the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York displays a stained-glass wall by Chagall, an artwork commemorated by the UN with a postage stamp and souvenir sheet in 1967.
- The former family residence on Pokrovskaya Street in Vitebsk has been converted into the Marc Chagall Museum.
- The Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas, possesses one of the most extensive collections of Chagall's works on paper and consistently presents rotating exhibitions dedicated to the artist.
- Approximately 40 to 50 of Chagall's works are housed at the Marc Chagall Yufuin Kinrin-ko Museum in Yufuin, Kyushu, Japan.
- Marc Chagall's later painting, titled Job, was created for the Job Tapestry in Chicago.
- Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto is scheduled to present "Marc Chagall and the Bible" from May to October 2023.
- Other Tributes
During the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, a float reminiscent of Chagall's style, featuring clouds and dancers, traversed the venue inverted, suspended above 130 costumed dancers, 40 stilt-walkers, and a violinist performing folk music.
School of Paris
- School of Paris
- Jewish Culture
- Menzel v. List
Notes
Citations
References
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