Marc Chagall was born in 1887 to a devout Jewish family in Belarus. Following a traditional education Chagall was enrolled in the Imperial Academy for the Protection of the Arts in St. Petersburg where he learned the fundamentals of Art. Following the conclusion of his formal education he traveled to Paris where he was influenced by many artists and writers who encouraged him to expand his creative expression further than the traditional minded teachers in St. Petersburg. In 1912 Chagall achieved recognition as he was accepted into the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne, annual French exhibits, along with the staging his first solo show in 1914 in Berlin. After his exhibits resounding success Chagall returned to Belarus in order to marry his fiance Bella Rosenfield. Unfortunately during this trip he was trapped in his home country by the closing of the Russian borders due to the outbreak of WWI. Even with this unforeseen circumstance his creative spirit was not dampened. Chagall continued to produce art and develop his abstract style. Unfortunately this success did not last and under mounting pressure from Suprematists in his community he chose to leave Russia for good and settle with his wife and daughter in Paris. His work underwent a spiritual revolution as he learned to etch and produced over 30 biblical plates. As in Russia Chagall would not remain in Paris for long, the rising threat of Nazi Germany chased him and his family to the United States for the duration of the war. The constant changes along with the loss of his wife in 1944 had a profound, effect on style. Isolation fear, sorrow and memory featured heavily in his work until he returned to France, where his religion once again inspired him to create a brighter and more uplifting works. Marc Chagall passed on March 28, 1985.

marc chagall
La Femme de Potiphar. Marc Chagall. 9.5 x 11.75. Etching and watercolor, 1931-1939.