On august 4 Armenian capital city Yerevan held a musical-literature event dedicated to the 125th anniversary of world celebrited artist, one of the leaders of the 20th century avant-garde Marc Chagall. Within the frameworks of the event extracts from the artist’s “My Life book”, by Anna Mikaelyan were presented, and the part of the event included a movie, devoted to life and activity of Chagall.
Marc Zaharovich Chagall (7 July 1887 – 28 March 1985), was a Russian-French artist associated with several major artistic styles and one of the most successful artists of the 20th century. He was an early modernist, and created works in virtually every artistic medium, including painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic, tapestries and fine art prints.
Chagall was born in the traditional neighborhood of Liozna, now part of the Russian Empire. As the oldest of nine children, Chagall grew up in a tight-knit Hasidic Jewish family where tradition played a heavy role. The mystical nature of Hasidic Judaism is evident in Chagall’s imagery all throughout his life.
In 1908 Chagall moved to St. Petersburg to begin his artistic career. There he was inspired by the works of Paul Gauguin and the thrill of contemporary theater. He completed an apprenticeship and began to cultivate a naturalist style until he met his wife, Bella Rosenfeld.
After that Chagall moved to Paris where his studied for the master’s degree at the Louvre and cooperated with budding artists like Guillaume Apollinaire and Fernand Léger. Chagall’s familiar subject of his childhood neighborhood and childlike imagination was translated into the current modes of Fauvism, Cubism and Expressionism.
Armenia’s National Picture Gallery has only one canvas by the artist painted in 1917.
