The Chariot of Elijah makes reference to the prophet Elijah, a man of great faith, who was born in 927 BCE. He is often depicted being carried away by a celestial chariot, implying that he will live forever.

As for the artist, born Mark Zakharavitch Chagal in Belarus in 1887, Marc Chagall was born into a Hasidic Jewish family and was the eldest of nine children.

He settled in Paris, France in 1910. He witnessed the rise of Fauvism and cubism. He never forgot his Russian origins, and he fled anti-Semitism.

In 1930, a series of illustrations on the Bible was commissioned from him. He made more than 100 engravings depicting scenes from the Old Testament.

Marc Chagall died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France in 1985.

Musée Pierre-Boucher Collection
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