 It was 1906, and he had noticed the studio of Yehuda (Yuri) Pen, a realist artist who also operated a small drawing school in Vitebsk, which included the future artists El Lissitzky and Ossip Zadkine.Due to Chagall's youth and lack of income, Pen offered to teach him free of charge.However, after a few months at the school, Chagall realized that academic portrait painting did not suit his desires.