God’s Mercy Proclaimed

Marc Chagall was born in the small Russian town of Vitebsk to a devout Jewish family. His hometown and his faith served as an inspiration in his work throughout his life. After completing several commissions for the art dealer Ambroise Vollard, Chagall was asked to create a series of 105 etchings based on the Bible. The first 65 of these were created between 1931 and 1939 and the rest between 1952 and 1956.

The scenes depicted are derived from twelve books of the Bible, with an emphasis on the experience of the Jews. Renowned art historian Meyer Schapiro said “if we had nothing of Chagall but his Bible, he would be for us a great modern artist.”