Chagall - by Simon Elliott (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Poet, dreamer, and exotic apparition . . ."--this is a graphic novel about the colorful life of modernist pioneer Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall lived his life the way he painted: in impossible colors, in defiance of gravity, and between worlds. Chagall: Painter of Poetry traces the journey of the boy from Vitebsk who carried his village, his faith, and his dreams into the modern age, and became one of the most famous artists in the world. We follow Chagall as he escapes persecution, reinvents himself in Paris (absorbing Cubism, Fauvism, Symbolism, and Surrealism), survives wars, revolution, and exile, and transforms memory into masterpieces that reshaped 20th-century art.

From floating lovers and violin-playing goats to stained-glass windows that blaze with spiritual fire, this book reveals how Chagall turned longing, love, and loss into a visual style all his own. Both intimate and epic, it is the story of an artist who refused to come down to earth -- and transformed his personal devotions into a universal language of hope and love, bringing light, wonder, and humanity to a world too often overshadowed by darkness.

Acclaimed for his graphic biographies of Hockney (2023), Van Gogh (2024), and Kusama (2025), Simon Elliott returns with an affectionate portrait of perhaps the greatest colorist, and therefore optimist, of them all.

About the Author

Simon Elliott is a criminal barrister, art obsessive, and lover of all things colorful. Inspired by Hockney's message in 2021 that "spring cannot be cancelled." Elliott put his lockdown to good use by engrossing himself in all things Hockney, learning how to paint on an iPad, and creating his first graphic novel, Hockney: A Graphic Life (Frances Lincoln, 2023), which was published with Hockney's blessing. His other works include Vincent: A Graphic Biography (Frances Lincoln, 2024), and Kusama: Polka Dot Queen (SelfMadeHero, 2025).