My Life (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The first thing I ever saw was a trough..." (more)
Key Phrases: Uncle Neuch, Comrade Chagall, The Dibbuk (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

50 of the artist's whimsical illustrations are included in a memoir which provides a lively account of the artist's early life and artistic development. Enjoy a fine account which is fun to read even for total newcomers to Chagall's work. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

My Life was written in Moscow in 1921–1922, when Chagall was thirty-five years old. Although long out-of-print, it remains one of the most extraordinarily inventive and beautifully told of all autobiographies. The text is accompanied by twenty plates which Chagall prepared especially to illustrate his life story. Together, the words and pictures paint an incomparable portrait of one of the greatest painters of this century, and of the now vanished milieu which inspired him.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306805715
• ISBN-13: 978-0306805714
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,968 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative Word-Pictures, December 18, 2002

By	Carole Glickfeld "lover of literature" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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MY LIFE is unlike any other autobiography I've read. Who would have thought of Chagall as a poet? As a master of word pictures? There is not a dry, boring sentence in the entire book. Instead, Chagall paints verbal pictures of his youth, his family, his struggles to become an artist. It's must reading for anyone who aspires to remain an artist (painter, writer, dancer . . .). Although the book reads very, very quickly, the poignant feelings it evokes cannot end so quickly. I am haunted by Chagall's painful youth-the poverty, the discouragement he received from many quarters. And yet the autobiography is inspirational, because as a writer, I know that one cannot let go of an unshakable faith in one's calling.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lyric story of the artist's youth , January 9, 2005

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This small autobiography is a poetic inspiring work. It tells of Chagall's childhood in Vitebsk and his first youthful efforts as an artist. And it also contains within it the great love story of Chagall's life with his first wife Bella. Chagall writes with intensity and strength much the way he paints. The difficulty of his early years is somehow transcended by his devotion to his artistic vocation. This is a recommended work for all those who care about the relation of the artist to his life, and of the creator of great beauty to his artistic task.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marc Chagall, the poetry of reality., May 12, 2000

By	Paula (Montevideo, Uruguay) - See all my reviews

This book is an autobiography by Marc Chagall himself. Its a wonderful exploration of Chagall's jewish-russian memories of his beloved village Vitebsk and of his first encounters with the avant-garde in the Paris of the early 20th century. Its a good example of Chagall's sensitivity and of his spirituality. It should be a highly readable book for it is full of poetry, phantasy and hope. At the same time, the reader will be able to meet one the 20th century leading colorists.