Marc Chagall was born as
one of eight children of a Russian-Jewish family in
Vitebsk/Belarus. His given name was not Marc, but Moses.
In Paris - at that time the Mecca of art -
Chagall experienced Fauvism and Cubism. Soon he
developed his very own poetic style.
Besides his paintings and glass-windows
for Roman-Catholic cathedrals and Jewish synagogues, he
created a rich plethora of prints. As color was of such
great essence for his work, lithography became the
artist's favorite technique.
Chagall was already 35 years old when he
started with printmaking techniques. At that time he
lived in Berlin/Germany with his wife Bella and his
daughter Ida. He created woodcuts, etchings and a total
of 24 lithographs. These early prints were drawn by the
artist on paper and transformed into lithographs by a
professional printer. At that time, Chagall - as so many
famous artists - did not yet have the necessary
knowledge and skill to master the technical printing
process himself.
In 1923 Chagall returned to Paris. He
received commissions by the art dealer Vollard to
illustrate Gogol's book The Dead Souls, La
Fontaine's Fables and the Bible. For all
three series, the technique of etchings was used.
Vollard died before these illustrations could be
finished. They were later published with a huge delay by
E.Teriade in 1948, 1952 and 1956.
Exile in New York
In 1941 Chagall went into exile from
Nazi occupied France to the United States. He had
received an invitation by the Museum of Modern Art in
New York.
In 1944 the artist's wife Bella died.
In his house in High Falls, Chagall
created the series Four Tales from the Arabian Nights.
This series consists of 12 Chagall lithographs in color.
They were first painted as gouaches and then printed in
1948 in the studio of Albert Carman, City Island, New
York. It is not known to which degree the artist was
involved in the printing process.
During Chagall's exile in New York, he
designed the costumes and stage decorations for a ballet
performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird. In
1946, the New York Museum of Modern Art had a huge
retrospective exhibition of Marc Chagall's prints and
paintings. The exhibition was a big success and was
later shown in Chicago.
Working with Mourlot and Sorlier in
Paris
In 1947 Mark Chagall returned to France.
1950 is the beginning of a completely new era for his
printmaking activities. He cooperated with the publisher
Mourlot in Paris. At the age of 63, Chagall more or less
learned the art of making lithographs from scratch -
like an apprentice. The teacher of this gifted
"apprentice" became Charles Sorlier, a professional and
exceptionally talented printer. Under the guidance of
Sorlier, Chagall worked regularly in the printing studio
of Mourlot. In this period he created his graphic
masterpieces like Daphnis and Chloe.
Marc Chagall prints are usually limited
to an average of 50 copies, signed and numbered by the
artist. In addition to these numbered prints, about a
dozen artist proof prints - numbered in Roman numbers
and printed on different paper - were produced.
From 1950 on, Velin d'Arches or B.F.K.
de Rives paper was used. These papers have watermarks.
Both paper brands are not purely white, but are slightly
toned. But editions printed on Japan paper (Japon nacre)
can be found as well.
Apart from the prints in a very limited
number, also large editions of up to 15,000 copies were
produced and published in magazines like Derriere le
Mirroir and XX Siecle. Chagall Marc used
lithographs for all kinds of occasions - like for
instance menu or birthday cards.
At the end of his life, the artist had
created more than one thousand prints - mainly
lithographs and etchings. He died at the age of 98 on
March 28, 1985 in Saint-Paul in France. His works are
sought after by art lovers and museums all over the
world. Chagall is considered as one of the greatest
artists of the 20th century.