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A Freilekhn Gebortstog, Moishe Shagal

A birthday message

by
Julie Hartman
July 06, 2011
From Birthday (1915), by Marc Chagall.(MOMA)
From Birthday (1915), by Marc Chagall.(MOMA)

Today is Moishe Shagall’s birthday. Born July 6, 1887, in the Belorussian town of Vitebsk, he became better known as Marc Chagall. If, somehow, even that name doesn’t ring a bell, we suggest you check out Jonathan Wilson’s biography for Nextbook Press, or at least read Wilson’s introductory essay about the legendary artist, in which Wilson explained, “Chagall’s oeuvre, when seen in its entirety, seems altogether more historical, more political, harder and edgier than conventional wisdom would have us believe.”

Finally, if you reside on the Eastern Seaboard and wish to check out some of Chagall’s work, this weekend is your last chance to visit Paris Through the Window: Chagall and His Circle at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the exhibit closes July 10. There’s still plenty of time, however, to view the newly restored America Windows installation piece at the Art Institute in Chicago.

One painting you won’t be able to see on Chagall’s birthday is, ironically, “Birthday.” It’s in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and not currently on display. You can, however, buy a reproduction for yourself on eBay.

Introduction to Marc Chagall [Nextbook.org]
Marc Chagall [Nextbook Press]
Related: Hasidic Cubism [Tablet Magazine]
Rhapsody in Blue [Tablet Magazine]