Marc Chagall (1887 Lozno near Vitebsk - 1985 Saint-Paul-de-Vence), "Green River," 1974

Literature
Mourlot, 728

Biography
Prominent representative of the École de Paris. He studied drawing with the Vitebsk painter Jud Pen. In 1907 he began his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy. From 1910 to 1914 he was on scholarship in Paris, where he came into contact with Cubism and became friends with G. Apollinaire and M. Jacob. In 1915 he married Bella, who muse to many of his paintings. In 1919 he was the artistic director of the State Jewish Theater in Moscow. Since 1947, he lived permanently in Paris. After naive-realist paintings in his early work, he succumbed to the influence of Cubism, Expressionism and Surrealism. His paintings are dominated by serene love themes, landscapes and religious scenes. His characteristic means of expression include deformation of shapes, distortion of proportions, predominance of vivid reds, blues and greens.