WHO IN THE NAME OF ART WAS MOYSHE SEGAL?

If you haven’t guessed it, this is of course Marc Chagall. His real name being Moyshe Segal.

He was born in Vitebsk in the Russian empire in 1887.

Chagall was undoubtedly a genius who invented his own style, blending Cubism, Surrealism, Fauvism and Expressionism with concepts from Jewish folklore and general legend.

He was born into a Hassidic Jewish family who lived in Russia.

His father, Zakhar, worked for a herring merchant.

His mother, Feiga Ita, ran her own a small shop.

Chagall was lucky enough to meet Bella Rosenfeld who became his wife. She was a likeminded soul who had a passion for the arts, theatre, painting and poetry.

When came to Paris he was greatly inspired. One of Chagall’s famous sayings was, “My art needed Paris, like a tree needs water.”-

When Moyshe Segal was in Paris he altered his name to Marc Chagall. Although he lacked money this did not stop him. He painted on canvases made from curtains and pieces of cloth such as shirts.

As well as painting, Chagall also created stained glass windows. He once said that, “Stained Glass Windows represent the transparent partition between my heart and the heart of the world”-

Chagall’s stained glass can be found all over Europe and the United States.

He also designed sets and costumes for the theatre and ballet such as the New York City Ballet Theatre, including designs for Stravinsky’s Firebird and Tchaikovsky’s Aleko.

Another thing which intrigued Chagall was the circus. Growing up in Russia, he had observed many fetes for the Jewish festival of Purim. Also while in Paris, Chagall attended the Cirque d’Hiver at the invitation of Ambroise Vollard, the well-known art dealer. All these sources are reflected in his work.

Chagall seemed to have had a mystical side and often infused his work with mystical Jewish symbols.

Cruelly, the Nazi Regime saw his work as degenerate, and Chagall was forced to find exile in America.

His painting, 'Solitude', poignantly evokes the alienation and loss which he suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

On a more trivial note please take a look at the artist's interesting signature which has a combination of upper and lower case letters in it!

He died in New York in 1985.

To see more of Mark Chagall's work visit: https://en.musees-nationaux-alpesmaritimes.fr/

To view an interesting portrait of Mr Chagall go to: https://bg.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Файл:Chagall_France_1921.jpg