What was Marc Chagall’s role in Vitebsk after the Russian Revolution of 1917?

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Marc Chagall initially embraced the political changes and took on a significant administrative role in his hometown of Vitebsk. He served as the commissar for art for the Vitebsk region and dedicated himself to establishing a local art academy and museum.1

During this period, Chagall also acted as the director of the revolutionary People’s Art School in Vitebsk, where he invited fellow artist El Lissitzky to teach architecture and graphics in 1919. However, Chagall’s tenure was marked by intense aesthetic and political disagreements with the faculty, particularly involving Kazimir Malevich. After two and a half years of these conflicts, Chagall resigned from his position and moved to Moscow, eventually leaving Russia entirely in 1922.21