Marc Chagall was born in what is now Belarus.  He is famous as a painter and a graphic designer whose distinctive use of color and form derived partly from Russian Expressionism with French Cubist influences.  His vivid recollections of Russian Jewish village scenes and incidents in his private life were treated with a touch of humor and fantasy.

Chagall used  strong bright colors to portray the world with a dreamlike, non-realistic simplicity and surreal inventiveness.  This fusion of fantasy, religion and nostalgia filled his work with a child-like, joyous quality.

La Cirque Bleu	Les Amoreaux de Venice	Mystere Matinal

Chagall also embraced other forms of art such as ceramics, mosaics and stained glass.  Among his most famous building decorations are the Paris Opera House ceiling, two murals in the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and the beautiful stained glass windows at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem..

Enchantement Vesperal	The Bride and Groom	The Lovers