Chagall (born 1887- died 1985) grew up in Belarus, now an independent country, but then part of the Russian empire. His father was a laborer (unskilled construction worker) who struggled to make enough money to support the family. While Chagall spent most of his life in France, he never stopped returning to Belarus in his mind and in his art. In Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers, two landscapes hover above the painter: his new home of Paris and the memories of his childhood village in Belarus.