Marc Chagall, born in 1887 in the Russian town of Vitebsk, had a sharp intellect coupled with immense empathy for human struggles and hardships. His father was a factory worker that supported Chagall along with his mother and his seven siblings.
Chagall had a benefactor that sent him to Paris in 1910. He received a monthly stipend from this rich patron. Chagall quickly rejected cubism, fauvism and futurism, but remained in Paris. He refused to join with other surrealists and continued on his own path, which was largely influenced by the mysticism and fantastic lore and legend that are the foundations of the Hasidic Jewish people.
Expanded biography