Marc Chagall - The Russian-Jewish Artist, a European Modernist Painter
The 20th century European Modernist, Figurative artist, Mark Zakharovich Shagal, or Marc Chagall was born Moshe Shagal on July 7, 1887 in Vitebsk, Belarus, the then part of the Russian Federation. The eldest of nine children, Marc hailed from a Russian-Jewish family. His father, Khatskl (Zakhar) Shagal, worked for a herring merchant and his mother, Feige-Ite, ran a small grocery store. During his early years, Chagall was not allowed to attend a local community school because of his Jewish descent. His mother had to bribe the head master fifty rubles to allow him in. Chagall started drawing as a schoolchild. He copied portraits and other famous drawings. Jewish-Belarusian artist-painter Yehuda Pen tutored him on painting in 1906. In 1907, Marc joined the School of the Society of Art Supporters, at St. Petersburg. He was taught there by the Russian painter, Nikolai Roerich. During 1908-10, Marc Chagall studied at the Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting. In 1909, at the age of twenty...