In honor of Marc Chagall's birthday, we are revisiting a post originally published last year honoring the artist's life and work.
Today marks the birthday of one of the art world's most beloved Marcs -- Marc Chagall. The painter reached the hearts and imaginations of people worldwide with his expressive paintings that simultaneously harnessed the spirit of the avant-garde and the warmth of tradition. As Michael Kimmelman wrote in The New York Times: "the young Chagall had one foot in the modern world, his other in the shtetl." The talented soul would turn 126 if he were still with us today.
Chagall was born in the then-Russian neighborhood of Liozna (present day Belarus). As the oldest of nine children, Chagall grew up in a tight-knit Hasidic Jewish family where tradition played a heavy role. The mystical nature of Hasidic Judaism is evident in Chagall's imagery all throughout his life. Starry night skies, dancing ghosts and skywalking fiddlers populate Chagall's mythology, somewhere between religion and surrealism. Thus he was beloved by both, seemingly disparate, populations. He was a storyteller, dreamer and colorist that many different audiences could believe in.
People look at "Le nu au-dessus de Vitebsk" (The nude over Vitebsk) from 1933 by Russian-French painter Marc Chagall on October 12, 2012 at the Art and Industry museum "La Piscine" in Roubaix, northern France. (PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
In 1908 Chagall moved to St. Petersburg to begin his artistic career. There he was inspired by the work of Paul Gauguin and the thrill of contemporary theater. He completed an apprenticeship and began to cultivate a naturalist style until he met his wife, Bella Rosenfeld. In his autobiography "My Life," Chagall described his first encounter with Bella: "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." His passion for not only her beauty but her strength is visible in his portraits of her.
Next Chagall moved to Paris where his days were spent studying the masters at the Louvre and exchanging ideas with budding artists like Guillaume Apollinaire and Fernand L?ger. Chagall's familiar subject matter of his childhood neighborhood and childlike imagination was translated into the current modes of Fauvism, Cubism and Expressionism.
When the Nazi party rose to power, Chagall escaped to America where he lived in New York's Lower East Side. His traditional tongue was foreign to the current American scene, until Henri Matisse's son became his manager. It wasn't long before Chagall's poetry was understandable to the American audience, even before his native tongue was.
Chagall's dynamic career included theater sets, stained glass, Biblical interpretations and so much more. Yet he remained devoted to his Jewish roots, folkloric style and divine talent for color. His images from his long and full life (1887-1985) depict the world's transition from ancient to modern like the most beautiful epic poem.
We are thinking of you today, Mr. Chagall. Thank you for your poetry!
"Les trois acrobates" by Marc Chagall is on display during a preview of Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sales in New York, May 3, 2013. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks at "The dance" (1950) painting by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
A man takes a picture of the painting "Vava" from 1955 by Russian-French painter Marc Chagall on October 12, 2012 at the Art and Industry museum "La Piscine" in Roubaix, northern France. The painting is part of the exhibition "Marc Chagall: L'?paisseur des r?ves" (the thickness of dreams). (PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks at painting by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
People visit "The Origins of the Master's Creative Language" exhibition of Marc Chagall`s works at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, on July 10, 2012. The exhibition marks the 125th anniversary of Chagall`s birth. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/GettyImages)
A woman looks at "The war" (1943) painting by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks at works by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks at painting by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
Visitors walks next to "Double portrait au verre de vin", a painting by Marc Chagall as part of the exhibition "Marc Chagall, the Thickness of Dreams" in Roubaix, northern France, Friday, Oct 12, 2012. This exhibition has been organised by the Musee "La Piscine" and the Dallas Museum of Art, and takes place from Oct 13, 2012 to Jan 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
A woman looks at painting by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks at "Exodus" (1952-1966) painting by Russian-born and naturalized French painter Marc Chagall, during an exhibition entitled "Between war and peace", on February 20, 2013 at the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. The event will be held from February 21 until July 21, 2013. (PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks at a paper sculpture "Aleko scene II" by Russian-French painter Marc Chagall on October 12, 2012 at the Art and Industry museum "La Piscine" in Roubaix, northern France. The painting is part of the exhibition "Marc Chagall: L'?paisseur des r?ves" (the thickness of dreams). (PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/GettyImages)
A woman passes by a plaster sculpture "La vierge ? l'enfant" (Madonna with child), 1952, by Russian-French painter Marc Chagall on October 12, 2012 at the Art and Industry museum "La Piscine" in Roubaix, northern France. The scumpture is part of the exhibition "Marc Chagall: L'?paisseur des r?ves" (the thickness of dreams). (PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/GettyImages)
People look at "Le nu au-dessus de Vitebsk" (The nude over Vitebsk) from 1933 by Russian-French painter Marc Chagall on October 12, 2012 at the Art and Industry museum "La Piscine" in Roubaix, northern France. The painting is part of the exhibition "Marc Chagall: L'?paisseur des r?ves" (the thickness of dreams). (PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/06/marc-chagall-birthday_n_3541733.html
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