MARC CHAGALL Hand Signed 1931-39 Etching w Hand Watercolor

Description: MARC CHAGALL Hand Signed 1931-39 Etching w Hand Watercolor - FIN d'ABSALON - Small Edition Size of 100(translation is End Of Absalom)S. 268Image size: 12 1/2" high x 9 11/16" wideFramed size: 33" high x 30" wide x 1 1/2" deep This fine artwork in an etching with hand-coloring in watercolor on Arches wove paper. It is initialed 'M. Ch.' in pencil in lower right margin and numbered 69/100 in lower left margin. Also signed in the plate lower right. This is one of 105 separate etchings comprising Chagall's "Bible", that was commissioned by Ambrose Vollard. 66 of the etchings were printed by Maurice Potin from 1931-1939 and the other 39 were printed by Raymond Haasen from 1952-1956. This piece is from the Arabic numbered edition of just 100 examples with hand watercoloring. (275 unsigned examples in black and white and 20 Roman numbered hors commerce - artist proofs- also exist.) Published in bound version in 1956. After Chagall completed the plates for Gogol's "Les Ames Mortes" and "Les Fables de Fontaine" for Vollard in 1931, Chagall again responded to Vollard's suggestion to undertake a series of illustrations of the Bible. The media he chose was etching and engraving, and in 1931 he traveled to Palestine to get a sense of the land itself. He also visited Amsterdam to study the biblical etchings of Rembrandt in preparation for the series. Upon returning to Paris, Chagall began the project and for the next decade, from 1931-1939, he worked and completely 66 of the etchings before the untimely death of Vollard and war across Europe halted the project. In 1952, Chagall resumed work on the additional thirty nine plates to complete the Bible series in 1956 for Teriade, the publisher. Chagall's Bible series consumed almost twenty-five years of his life. Arguably, the artist's most ambitious project ever undertaken, his passion was deliberate and perceivable and some of the plates went through 12 state changes until he was completely satisfied. Printing of the plates took place after the War, at first in Maurice Potin's studio and later at Raymond Haasen's. The copper plates were subsequently cancelled and given to the Musee National Message Biblique in Nice by Marc and Vava Chagall. Of the Bible, Chagall said, "Ever since my earliest youth, I have been fascinated with the Bible. I have always believed that is is the greatest source of poetry of all time. I have sought its reflection in life and art. The Bible is life, an echo of nature, and this is the secret I have endeavored to transmit." Meyer Schapiro, noted art historian, made the observation that Chagall was the ideal artist to have undertaken this task, "He has represented themes of an older tradition not in a a spirit of curiosity or artifice, but with noble devotion. Although these etchings are marvels in patience, scrupulous craftmanship, in almost every image we experience the precise note of his emotion, his awe or sadness or joy, which is voiced in the melody of shapes and the tonal scale peculiar to each conception. If we had nothing of Chagall but his Bible, he would be for us a great modern artist." "La Bible" is one of Chagall's most important works. The work was originally commissioned by Ambrose Vollard in 1930. The artist spent the next eight years from 1931- 1939 etching the plates. In 1950, at the age of 63, Chagall began creating lithographs, which would eventually become one of his most important mediums of expression. His collaborator was Charles Sorlier, a master printer who joined the renown Mourlot Atelier in Paris in 1948. Sorlier assisted numerous famous artists in the creation of their lithographs, including Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Fernand Leger, but his relationship with Chagall was among the most significant. Sorlier became Chagall's creative consultant and technical master, working regularly with the artist in the studio. They formed a relationship that lasted for decades and were responsible for bringing some of the greatest examples of the medium of lithography into existence, and elevating the medium to a higher level. MORE ABOUT THE ETCHING PROCESSEtching was first popularized in the 15th century, with artists such as Albrecht Durer employing the method by carving into wood blocks. This process has its origins in the armorer's trade, where it was used to add elaborate patterns to swords and armor, but it was later adopted to 'mass' produce images on paper. To produce an etching, a piece of metal known as a plate - initially iron, but later copper and zinc - is coated with a varnish called a ground. An image is then drawn into the varnish using a sharp tool and then treated with an acid that eats away at the exposed metal creating fissures. The depth and subsequent darkness of the fissures depend on the length of time the metal is exposed to the acid. Ink applied to the cleaned plate settles into the etched lines and is then transferred to paper during the printing process, allowing multiple images to be created from a single plate.

Price: 15900 USD

Location: Weatherford, Texas

End Time: 2024-08-05T15:25:09.000Z

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