My Life
Marc Chagall's autobiography My Life was written in Moscow between 1921 and 1922, when Chagall was thirty-five years old. The book is an important milestone in Chagall's career. It is an engaging exploration of his Jewish-Russian roots in his beloved native town, Vitebsk, and of his first artistic encounters with the Paris avant-garde of the early 20th century.
Although autobiographical, Chagall's entirely personal and inventive handling of composition endows these illustrations with universal meaning. These lyrical evocations of his childhood lend an idyllic aura to Chagall's early years, glossing over the turmoil that he experienced while growing up.
Paul Cassirer, the Berliner publisher, had planned to publish the autobiography together with a number of the author's etchings and drypoints, but the plan was never realized. Chagall's autobiography was not published until 1932, in a French translation prepared by his wife Bella.
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