Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (1887–1985) was born in Vitebsk, Russia. He was a painter, printmaker, and designer whose work was composed through emotions and poetic associations. His work synthesized Symbolism, Cubism, and Fauvism, and was an influence on the Surrealist movement.
From 1907 to 1910 he studied in Saint Petersburg at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts and later with Léon Bakst. He also worked in various media including stage sets, stained glass windows, ceramics, tapestries, and fabric prints. He moved to Paris in 1910 where he was associated with Fauvism and Cubism. In 1914, his first solo show was held at the Sturm Gallery in Berlin.
In 1914, Chagall visited Russia and was prevented from returning to Paris by the outbreak of war. He settled in Vitebsk, where he was appointed Commissar for Art in 1918. He founded the Vitebsk Popular Art School and was the director until 1920. Chagall returned to Paris in 1923 and had his first retrospective at the Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert, Paris.
Chagall fled to the United States during World War II, and in 1946 he received a retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1948, he returned to settle permanently in France. During the 1960s, Chagall received many international commissions including a ceiling for the Paris Opéra (1963); murals for the Metropolitan Opera House, New York (1967); and a window for the United Nations building, New York (1964). In 1977, received a retrospective at the Louvre and the Grand Medal of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest award.