Marc Chagall 1887-1985
Chagall was born in Vitebsk, Russia in 1887. After studying in St Petersburg he went to Paris where he befriended the avant-garde circle of artists. In 1917 he returned to his native Vitebsk where he was made Director and Commissar of Fine Art. However, his fantasy-based work irked the conservative authorities so he left for Moscow to design for the new Jewish Theatre.
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Returning to Paris in 1923 he met the art-dealer Vollard for whom he illustrated Gogol’s Dead Souls and the Fables of La Fontaine. Between 1941-47 he moved between occupied France and the USA, eventually settling near Nice. Chagall was a prolific artist, his work reminiscent of Jewish life, bible stories and of the folklore from his early years in Russia. He died in 1985.
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Etching, 1952
Suite: Les Fables de la Fontaine
Signed in Plate
Edition of 200
Paper size: 23.7 × 29cm
£2950 Framed
The etchings for La Fontaine’s Fables were commissioned by the famous art dealer Ambroise Vollard and his choice of the ‘romantic’ artist Chagall to illustrate the ‘classical’ French masterpiece created a considerable furore at the time, even being debated in the Chamber of Deputies. Vollard answered the question of Why Chagall? by saying, simply because his aesthetic seems to me in a certain sense akin to La Fontaine’s, at once sound and delicate, realistic and fantastic.
Those offered here are from one of just 85 sets which were hand painted by Chagall himself and most are signed in the plate. They are considered one of the great suites of the 20th century.Each print will be accompanied by a copy of the justification page, signed by Chagall.