Etchings and lithographs as limited editions

The dreamer and great poet of modernism, Marc Chagall, is one of the most important and best-known artists of the 20th century.

Vita and reputation of the artist

The Russian-French painter Marc Chagall (1887, Vitebsk, today Belarus - 1985, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France) received his artistic training at various academies in Saint Petersburg between 1906 and 1910. In 1911, Chagall went to Paris, which at the time was the melting pot par excellence for the avant-garde in Western Europe. After a few years, the young artist returned to his homeland before moving to Berlin in 1922, emigrating to New York in 1941 and finally returning to Europe in 1948. Chagall lived in the south of France until the end, including in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Saint-Paul-de-Vence near Nice, where Picasso and Matisse also worked.

Marc Chagall is considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He played a decisive role in shaping modernism and influenced numerous artists, including Picasso. Chagall's first groundbreaking exhibition was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1946. Since then, Chagall has been presented internationally in solo exhibitions.

Chagall's Style

Chagall is repeatedly described as a co-founder of Surrealism. The artistic approach of his works varies, however, and the artist experimented with Expressionism and Cubism, particularly in his early works. What makes Chagall's art exceptional is the combination of these then new stylistic trends with his very own pictorial language and with motifs that were very unusual for the time - this made him the ‘wunderkind of modernism’.

Chagall's pictorial themes

Chagall's central themes are love and death, motherhood and birth, home and identity. It seems as if Chagall was trying to capture the whole of life.

Some paintings also make reference to literary and religious writings, such as the Bible or the famous fables of the French poet Jean de la Fontaine. Motifs relating to Chagall's Jewish origins also appear time and again.

Chagall often integrated motifs from his rural homeland into his pictorial compositions, which is why chickens, donkeys, birds and cows appear repeatedly, as well as village scenes, houses and vast landscapes. In many of his works, humans, animals and nature merge together.

Chagall frequently integrated flowers into his paintings, either as plants growing wild in nature or as magnificent bouquets of flowers; they symbolise prosperity and life.

Lovers are probably one of Chagall's most central motifs. Many of his works are self-portraits with his wife and muse Bella Rosenfeld. Chagall's lovers are often floating, gazing dreamily into each other's eyes, whispering in each other's ears, embracing each other intimately. Chagall's poetic depictions of intimacy, tenderness and closeness are unique in the history of art!

The artist on his art:

»My paintings are ‘constructions psychiques’. I try to transfer layers of psychological reality onto the canvas and deposit them there.« – Marc Chagall

Chagall's fantastic and poetic pictorial worlds

Chagall's dreamy scenes in particular have become world-famous. In these paintings, we repeatedly see floating people, sometimes in nocturnal landscapes, surrounded by flowers or animals.

Chagall's works are often richly detailed and complex, with a wealth of symbolism integrated into them. They tell little stories and seem like allegories. However, they are difficult to interpret unambiguously, pose riddles and leave room for personal associations.

Chagall's poetic, fantastic pictorial worlds are still fascinating today!

Etchings and lithographs as limited editions by Marc Chagall

Graphic works play an important role in Marc Chagall's oeuvre. The artist began working with graphic prints at an early stage and, over the course of his career, achieved a virtuosity in this field that few other artists have. Marc Chagall produced his limited editions primarily as etchings and lithographs.

We are delighted to be able to offer you a selection of special, original etchings and lithographs, all of which are limited editions.