signed and no. 262/335 and dated and inscribed ‘LXXIII Le Procureur en mourut -Les Âmes Mortes 1927’ verso- etching
21×27.5 cm
Provenance and literature
Literature: Sorlier, no.91
About the artist
*Les Ames Mortes* is a world-famous classic by the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. At the request of the art dealer Ambroise Vollard, Chagall created a total of 96 etchings for the book between 1923 and 1927. Although Vollard died in 1939, the project was completed by the publisher Tériade. The etchings combine Gogol’s satirical story with Chagall’s own memories of rural life.
In Paris, Chagall participated in exhibitions at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne. His first major solo exhibition took place at Galerie Der Sturm in Berlin in 1914. After the outbreak of World War I, Marc Chagall returned to Russia. In 1937, Chagall acquired French citizenship. Due to the German occupation of France during World War II and the persecution of Jews, Chagall fled. The American journalist Varian Fry helped him escape from France. Traveling through Spain and Portugal, Chagall arrived with his family in the United States in 1941, where he settled in New York.