chagall

Marc Chagall was one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. He was born to a Jewish family in Belarus and spent most of his adult life in France. He didn't begin to create stained glass until after he was 70, yet they serve as a large part of his legacy.

The last windows he decided to create were for St. Stephan, a Christian church in Germany. Chagall was at first reluctant to agree to a commission from a German church after the atrocities the Germans committed against the Jewish people during World War II. To avoid being killed himself, Chagall & his own family were forced to flee Nazi-occupied France and spend many of the war years in the United States.

However, Chagall felt that by doing this project it would demonstrate something much more meaningful to humanity. A Jewish artist creating windows for a German church could symbolize both a reconciliation between Germany and the Jewish people and also between Christians and Jews. With this in mind, Chagall finally agreed to this commission.

This project was in fact Marc Chagall’s last one and he did not live to see his works installed inside the church. He died after creating the last major window at the age of 97.

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