A print of Chagall's classic, dream-like painting, The White Window.

Marc Chagall (1887–1985), born in Belarus to a Hassidic family, began his education at a traditional Jewish school in Vitebsk. After studying with a local artist for several years, the artist moved to St. Petersberg in 1907 and continued his studies at the Zvantseva School. Chagall moved to Paris in 1910 and his inventive imagery won immediate recognition in the city's avant-garde circles. Here he began to assimilate cubist characteristics into his expressionistic style. He is considered a forerunner of surrealism. The artist returned to Belarus in 1915 where his support of the Bolshevik Revolution led to his appointment as Commissar for the Arts in Vitebsk in 1918. During his tenure, Chagall founded an art school and museum but, disillusioned with the political environment of Russia, he returned to Paris in 1922, where where he spent most of his life.