Born in western Russia in 1887, Chagall studied art in St. Petersburg at the school of the Society for the Protection of the Arts and privately under Leon Bakst.

In 1914 he first visited Paris, a city where he spent the greater number of his working days.  He was approached by Ambroise Vollard, who commissioned him to produce a set of etchings for a deluxe art book.  Their alliance resulted in some of the great masterpieces in modern art, including "Les Ames Morte (The Dead Souls)".

Chagall's work can be summarized as combining his fantasy images with a modern French execution.  Often he depicted couples in love, angels and scenes from the Bible.  He was highly prolific during his lifetime that spanned 98 years.