Chagall is recognized as one of the most significant painters and graphical artists of the 20th century. Most of his unique work is based on poetic inspiration.
Marc Chagall was born on July 7, 1887, in Vitsyebsk, Russia. He was taught about art in Saint Petersburg and Paris until 1914. During this period he painted the works known as Candles in the Dark (1908), I and the Village (1911), and The Praying Jew (1914).
His used different styles in these artworks that are known as Russian expressionism and French Cubism. Between 1915 and 1917 he resided in Saint Petersburg. After the Russian Revolution he became director of the Art Academy in Vitsyebsk from 1918 to 1919 and was art director of the Moscow Jewish State Theater from 1919 to 1922. While there he painted several murals in the theater lobby. He also painted a picture reflecting on his private life known as Mein Leben (German for My Life 1922).
In 1923, he moved to France, where he spent the rest of his life, except for a brief residence in the U.S. During this time he etched a series of biblical themes illustrating the Old Testament, and the 12 stained-glass windows in the Hadassah Hospital of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem (1962).
In 1973 The National Museum of the Marc Chagall Biblical Message was opened in Nice, France to house hundreds of his biblical works. He died in St. Paul de Vence, France, on March 28, 1985.
