This is the house where a great artist has grown up: the Vitebsk region State Archives’ records on the foundation of the Museum of Marc Chagall

Abstract

The article describes a difficult procedure of establishing the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk starting with the very beginning of the idea and the pro and contra arguments up to the process of the building restoration and the collection of exhibit items. The work also includes the information about the museum’s exposition, which is now available for the visitors. The research is based on the archival records from the State Archives of the Vitebsk region, on the information received during the author’s visit to the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk and also on the autobiography written by the artist about the Russian period of his life. The author of the article introduces into scientific use those archival records that have not been published before though they have been connected with the establishment of the museum. The paper also touches upon the poorly studied information about the sources of the museum funding, including international sponsors, the data about the provenance of the exhibit items and their authenticity, about the presence of the house in Chagall’s pictures and in his memoires, and about the way the rooms were used when the artist and his family owned the house and how the apartments were changed during the restoration. The article includes the pictures and copies of the archival records connected with the negotiating process with the authorities of Belarus to open the museum.