Chagall, the "painter-poet," is considered one of the most significant painters of the 20th century. Born in 1887 as the oldest of nine children in a poor Orthodox Jewish working-class family in present-day Belarus, he is one of the co-founders of Surrealism and developed a unique, unmistakable visual language within it.

The sparse family environment, his hometown Vitebsk, and themes from the Bible and circus continuously find their way into his paintings. It has always been about an intuitive approach. The technique of gouache, the opaque water-based paint on paper, became his typical stylistic device.

From American exile, he was deeply affected by the war events in Europe: horror and destruction are recurring motifs of those years. After his return in 1948, a second, fruitful phase of creation began, characterized by numerous travels and international exhibitions.

What drove Chagall? How did he find his typical motifs, and how did he continue to develop the creative power to realize his paintings despite often adverse living conditions? This is the focus of the seminar with speakers Susanne Meyer-Büser, Karin Mohr, and Isabelle von Rundstedt.