HARMONY IN SYMBOLISM "My hands were too soft… I had to find some
special occupation, some kind of work that would not force me to
turn away from the sky and the stars, that would allow me to
discover the meaning of life." Marc Chagall's poetic, figurative
style made him one of most popular modern artists, while his
long life and varied output made him one of the most
internationally recognized. While many of his peers pursued
ambitious experiments that led often to abstraction, Chagall's
distinction lies in his steady faith in the power of figurative
art, one that he maintained despite absorbing ideas from Fauvism
and Cubism. Born in Russia, Chagall moved to France in 1910 and
became a prominent figure within the so-called Ecole de Paris.
Marc Chagall's influence is as vast as the number of styles he
assimilated to create his work. Although never completely
aligning himself with any single movement, he interwove many of
the visual elements of Cubism, Fauvism, Symbolism and Surrealism
into his lyrically emotio