Abstract
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) is one of the best loved artists of the 20th century. Born outside Vitbesk, a small Russian city of 50,000 inhabitants, he was naturalized French in 1937. His Russian childhood was to have important influence on his all work, and his dream-like memories of this period pervade many of his paintings. This is particularly the case of one of his most famous paintings, I and the village. This masterpiece, dated 1911 by Chagall (from memory), was probably painted in the spring of 1912, as part of a series of large compositions made in "La Ruche", Paris. The painting, 75(5/8) x 59(5/8) was given his name by Blaise Cendrars, a French poet and friend of Chagall. Exhibited for the first time in Berlin in 1914, it is now at the Museum of Modern Art
