Chagall, Marc

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Belorussian-born French painter and designer. Much of his highly coloured, fantastic imagery was inspired by the village life of his boyhood and by Jewish and Belorussian folk traditions. He was an original figure, often seen as a precursor of surrealism. I and the Village (1911; Museum of Modern Art, New York) is characteristic.

Chagall was born in Liosno, Vitebsk, now Belarus. He studied painting under Leon Bakst in St Petersburg and then in Paris 1910–14, where, largely ignoring avant-garde movements, he concentrated on his highly personal fantasy. He worked in Russia during World War I but returned to Paris in 1922 and lived mainly in France from then on. He designed mosaics (for Israel's Knesset in the 1960s), the ceiling of the Paris Opera House in 1964, tapestries, and stage sets. Examples of his stained glass can be found in a chapel in Vence, southern France, the cathedrals of Chartres, Metz, and Reims, and in a synagogue near Jerusalem (1961). He also produced illustrated books, in particular editions of the Bible and La Fontaine's Fables. His autobiography, Ma Vie/My Life, appeared in 1933.

Black, red, and green are known as the ‘black liberation’ colours, recalling Jamaican black activist Marcus Garvey. Taken from the arms of Nyasaland, the sun indicates the dawning of a new era. Effective date: 6 July 1964. >>