Mein Leben

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) grew up in the neighborhood of poor Jews in Vitebsk, Russia. In 1941, after stays in St. Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin, he temporarily returned to the place of his childhood and early youth. From the joyful mood of this reunion with his hometown, a series of etchings emerged in the early 1920s, depicting everyday scenes and the significant people from his childhood. His parents and grandparents are lovingly portrayed, along with his birth, the house where he was born, his first kiss, his wedding, street scenes, and the poignant encounter with his parents' graves – all of which form the foundation of Chagall's pictorial and graphic work.