| Title: |
Farming Scene From 'Les Ames Mortes' |
| Artist: |
Chagall, Marc (Vitebsk, Russia, 1887 - St. Paul-De-Vence,
France, 1985) |
| Date: |
1927 (Sole Published Edition: 1948) |
| Medium: |
Original Etching and Aquatint |
| Publisher: |
Teriade, Paris (Initially Commissioned by Ambroise Vollard) |
| Printer: |
Louis Fort, Paris |
| Note: |
Marc Chagall: The art of Marc Chagall stands at the
summit of twentieth century art. More than any artist of the modern era,
Marc Chagall was the master interpreter of dreams and allegories. These he
expressed with an astonishing innocence and purity and -- as his long,
productive career advanced -- the graphic arts of etching and lithography
were as vital to him as painting. |
| |
Born into a poor family in Russian Vitebsk, Marc Chagall first
began to paint in 1907. He attended an art school in St. Petersburg for
several years before leaving for Paris in 1910 to study under the famous
stage designer, Leon Bakst. His first major exhibition of art took place
in Berlin in 1914 and had an immediate influence upon the course of contemporary
German Expressionism. Marc Chagall was forced to return to Russia during the
First World War. He left Russia for good in 1922 and settled again in
Berlin. Finally in 1931 he made the Paris suburb of Vence his permanent
home. |
| |
Marc Chagall executed his first important series of prints
in 1922. These were a set of twenty etchings published in Berlin in a
limited edition book in 1923 under the title of Mein Leben ('My
Life'). These mostly autobiographical etchings came to the attention of
Paris's most famous art publisher, Ambroise Vollard, who almost immediately
began urging Chagall to move to Paris and work for him. Marc Chagall agreed
to create original etchings to illustrate a Vollard edition of the classic
Russian novel, Les Ames Mortes (Dead Souls), by Nicolai Gogol.
From 1923 to 1927 Marc Chagall worked extensively on this project, completing
one hundred etchings for the illustrated edition. Upon completion the
plates were printed in Paris by Louis Fort in limited editions of 368. |
| |
The etchings were then stored in Vollard's warehouse until
the text was printed and published to accompany them. Unfortunately Vollard
died in a car accident and political and economic events such as the Great
Depression and the Second World War postponed the actual publication until
1948 when Teriade published the completed etched portfolio. This original
etching then was created and printed in 1927 but not published until 1948.
Each of the etchings Marc Chagall made for Les Ames Mortes were struck
in only one edition of 368 impressions. None were signed by him in pencil
but all were signed in the plate. |
| |
The etchings for Les Ames Mortes are crucial to understanding
the development of Marc Chagall's art. Although they are meant to illustrate
the fiction of Gogol, they are much more concerned with Chagall's early
youth in his Russian Jewish village. Such scenes would provide a key element
in most of Chagall's art throughout his life. As well, his now famous
arrangement of form and space appears in these etchings for the first
time. Marc Chagall would create further great etchings and lithographs for
limited edition, fine art books, such as, La Fontaine Fables (1952)
and The Bible (1956), but none were as important to the evolution
of his great art as, Les Ames Mortes. |
| Raisonne: |
E. M. Garvey, The Artist & the Book, 1860-1960, Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, Harvard College Library, 1972 (Second Edition),
pp. 41 & 42. Catalogue # 50. |
| Edition: |
Limited edition of three hundred and sixty eight impressions. |
| Source: |
Les Ames Mortes |
| |
Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
| Condition: |
Printed upon thick, white Arches paper and with full, deckled
margins as published in Paris for Farming Scene from 'Les Ames Mortes'
in 1948. Signed 'Marc Chagall' in the plate to the lower right. Apart
from very faint matte staining this original limited edition etching and
aquatint is in excellent condition throughout and represents both a scarce
and important example of the famous art of Marc Chagall. |
| Price: |
Sold - The price is no longer available. |
| Important Information: |
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| Art of the Print / www.artoftheprint.com sells international fine art. Our collection consists of original paintings, watercolors, drawings, and original prints, such as etchings, engravings, lithographs, woodcuts, silk-screens, aquatints, mezzotints, linocuts, monoprints, and other mediums of original art. All of these works of art have been created by prominent and established painters, illustrators, watercolour artists and printmakers from around the world. The art in our gallery ranges from the early Renaissance period to the modern and contemporary art period. You can view other original artworks similar to the subject under discussion on this page listed in the following art directories. |
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| Fine 20th Century Artist Index |
The '20th Century artist' directory contains a listing of original works of art created by watercolor artists, painters, illustrators and graphic artists from around the world. These original works date from 1900 to the present day. |
| Country: |
| French Artist Index |
The 'French artist' directory contains a listing of original works of art created by artists from France and or art with a French theme. The artworks date from the 17th century to the 20th century. |
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This directory contains a listing of original works of art created by Russian artists from the 20th century. |
| Subject: |
| Animals in Art Index |
The 'Animal Art' directory contains a selection of original animal art created by artists throughout the centuries, depicting birds, cats, dogs, horses, cows, sheep, pigs, monkeys, fish and or many other creatures. The artists' depictions range from rare zoological studies to some very humorous animal portrayals. |
| Trades & Occupations Portrayed in Art Index |
The 'Trades & Occupations Portrayed in Art' directory contains a selection of original art depicting activities associated with trades, & occupations, such as cooks, bakers,
tailors, blacksmiths, shoemakers, barbers, fishermen, fishing merchants, wine and flower merchants, peddlers, farming, farmers,manufacturing, construction and other related vocations. These artworks date from the 16th century to the 20th century. |
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