Marc Chagall Signed "Fables" by Jean de La Fontaine with Cover Etchings, 1952
Item Details
A 1952 two-volume edition of Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables with cover etchings by Marc Chagall (Russian-French, 1887 – 1985). Each drypoint etching depicts animals from various fables and both are signed in plate to the lower left corner. The work is signed in ink by Marc Chagall to the colophon page and numbered 77 from an edition of 200 (includes 15 hors de commerce editions). The text is in French and printed on BFK Rives paper. The work was published by Tériade Éditeur, Paris with the typography and text printed by Imprimerie Nationale de France, Paris and the cover etchings printed by Raymond Haasen, Paris. The work initially included one hundred etched illustrations by Chagall in addition to the covers, but all etchings except the covers have been removed.
Marc Chagall was a renowned Jewish artist born July 7, 1887 in Vitebsk, Russia, who later moved to Paris and gained French citizenship. Chagall studied at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts in Saint Petersburg. He was a member of the Ecole de Paris and was part of the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne in the early 1900s. In addition to Paris and St. Petersburg, Chagall traveled and exhibited globally including Amsterdam, Jerusalem and New York City. Having lived through World War I and World War II, his work was influenced by these events. Chagall’s work is inspired by his Jewish heritage and his home town of Vitebsk, and incorporates elements of Fauvism and Cubism as well as aspects of traditional Russian and Jewish folk art. His work has been exhibited and collected internationally both privately and by institutions including the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou and Tate Modern.
Literature
Patrick Cramer, Marc Chagall: The Illustrated Books, figure 22.
| Title and Author/Editor | Fables (Jean de La Fontaine) |
| Genre | Allegory and Fable |
| Illustrator | Marc Chagall (Russian-French, 1887–1985) |
| Type of Illustration | Etching |
| Binding | Unbound |
| Publisher or Printer | Tériade Éditeur |
| Publication Year | 1952 |
| Period | Vintage |
| Place of Publication | Paris |
| Language | French |
| Signed | Yes |
| Signed by | Marc Chagall |
| Volumes | 2 |
Condition
- all one hundred etched illustrations have been removed; toning to paper; foxing to the edges of pages and covers; marks and abrasions to covers particularly to cover of volume two; edge wear to pages throughout.
Dimensions
- measures one volume.
Item #
ITMG533954
