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Chagall died in St Paul de Vence in 1985, aged 97. Today he is recognised as a master of the Modern movement, a painter of love. ‘My painting represents not the dream of one people but of all humanity’ he said.
Vollard commissioned him to paint the Old Testament. He travelled to the Holy Land for inspiration & loved Israel. ‘In the East I found the Bible & part of my own being’ he said. He immersed himself in the history of the Jews. From 1931-4 he was all about the Bible.
He was represented by the great dealer, Vollard. In 1926 he had his first US exhibit. Within a year Chagall’s reputation in France was assured. He travelled widely in the country & painted with fervour, excitement & genius all the time singing songs of joy thru his canvases.
Chagall managed to work his way around the insidious anti-semitism of Russia & succeeded in the city. From 1908-10 he studied under the great Léon Bakst. In 1910 he met Bella, his love & future wife. He followed Bakst to Paris (1910)
Chagall’s genius was mood & colour. Picasso admired him for the latter. He has also been pigeon-holed as the greatest Jewish painter of his time - he was clear he saw life from a universal perspective & not just from his own heritage. His was the voice of humanity triumphant
The Sigh (1923) brings a lyrical quality to his classicism. The Ballet would lead to one of his greatest drawings Two Dancers (1925). He also experimented with form to see how the mind could reassemble it to create Study of Cannes (1927) which is a woman unlocking a beach hut.