CHAGALL

A remarkable biography of Chagall, exploring both his tremendous lifelong output of art, and the lush artistic world in which he lived. Pozzi strives to make the biography accessible right from the outset, introducing major ``characters''— Chagall's wife, art dealers, and his friends—in pictures and caption biographies. Text and illustrations play equal roles throughout, recounting the artist's childhood in the small Russian town of Vitebsk, through his adult life in Paris, his marriage, and old age. Pozzi is careful to point out facets of the art (the Eiffel Tower, symbols of Judaism) that are also symbols of Chagall's experiences. Along with the many full-color reproductions (which, typical of the Masters of Art series, are often too small to do the paintings justice) of his work, there are numerous reproductions of art by his contemporaries, enveloping readers in the ideas of the times and introducing them to artists they may not yet know. (chronology, index) (Biography. 9-13)