ArtBohemia

Link: http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2586

Link: http://www.artbohemia.cz/scripts/galerie.php?author=picasso&hnuti=0&rok_od=&rok_do=&min_cena=&orderby=5&orderdirection=ASC&search=+vybrat&nazev=humain&zanr=0&technika=&max_cena=

La Comédie Humaine (Lidská komedie)
V relativně krátkém období mezi 28. listopadem 1953 a 3. únorem 1954 vytvořil Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) ve svém domě v jihofrancouzském Vallauris 180 brilantních kreseb, všeobecně zahrnovaných pod název La Comédie Humaine. Kompletní Picassův skicář, pokreslený během krátkých devíti týdnů (Picasso kreslil i na Štědrý den!), byl v roce 1954 vydán uměleckou revue Verve v Paříži a v jazykové mutaci i pro anglo-americké sběratele v New Yorku.
Toto Picassovo období je všeobecně považováno za nejzajímavější a uveřejněné kresby to dokazují. Tehdy už dvaasedmdesátiletý umělec měl před sebou ještě celých dvacet život plodného života! Kresby z cyklu Lidské komedie patří mezi nejvýraznější a nejsžíravější erotické opusy, které kdy Picasso vytvořil. Cyklus je možné rozdělit do skupin, přitom téma z jedné části přechází volně do druhé. Jako červená nit se skicářem táhne hlavní motiv: malíř a jeho modelka. To je ostatně téma, které Picasso rozvíjel prakticky po celý svůj život, v malbě i v grafice. Často ironicky zobrazuje muže s velkými břichy či jako opičky na hraní, naopak ženy jsou téměř vždy půvabné až majestátné. Během jednoho dne (5.1.1954) vytvořil Picasso sedmnáct kreseb se zcela novou rekvizitou: maskou. Maskovaný amorek obletující nahou ženu vypadá spíše jako trpaslík a sexuální loudil. Někteří muži s maskou se nápadně podobají dokonce samotnému Picassovi. Cyklus pokračuje krasojezdeckými kresbami z cirkusu, objeví se harlekýn a kolombína, Picassem proslavená holubice, lidská sousoší jako z jeho někdejších Metamorfóz. Pak se Picasso znovu vrací do ateliéru, kde je malíř sám se svojí modelkou, než ateliér navštíví čumilové. Na konci Lidské komedie jsou malíř s modelkou opět sami, ale tentokráte oba už s maskami.
Čtrnáct ze sto osmdesáti kreseb vyšlo v původní grafické technice barevné litografie, vytištěno věhlasným pařížským litografem a jedním z autorů Picassova soupisu díla Fernandem Mourlotem, v jehož dílně vytvářeli své litografické skvosty další avantgardní umělci jako např. Braque, Chagall, Dufy, Léger, Matisse, Delvaux, Miró, Cocteau, Le Corbusier, Giacometti, Buffet, Vasarely, Derain, Masson a další. Zbylých 166 kreseb bylo vytištěno heliogravurou, z toho čtyři barevně, ostatní jsou pouze monochromatické.
http://www.artbohemia.cz/scripts/galerie.php?author=picasso&hnuti=0&rok_od=&rok_do=&min_cena=&orderby=1&orderdirection=ASC&search=+vybrat&nazev=humain&zanr=0&technika=heli&max_cena=
Všechny kresby, resp. litografie a heliogravury, jsou Picassem datovány, popř. číslovány pořadím v příslušném dnu.
V České republice nebyl cyklus La Comédie Humaine Pabla Picassa dosud nikdy vystavován. Jednotlivé listy se objevují sporadicky; internetová aukční galerie ArtBohemia kompletní soubor zakoupila a jednotlivé grafiky nabízí svým klientům jako dobrou investici!
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Charles Sorlier (1921-1990)
Returning to Paris after his sojourn in America during World War II, Chagall met a young wizard of lithographic techniques when visiting the famous Parisian printer Mourlot: Charles Sorlier. Sorlier was soon to become to head of the lithography department at Mourlot's. Artists such as Miro, Léger, Picasso and Matisse took their litho stones to Mourlot's to have them printed. Sorlier compiled a reliable 'catalogue raisonné' for many of these artists. Sometimes he transferred their art onto litho stones, a job at which he was expert.
It was Sorlier who never ceased to encourage Chagall to create colour lithographs. The two were friends and close collaborators for the rest of Chagall's life. Chagall was so pleased with Sorlier's work that he sometimes appended his own signature to it, as with the poster-size colour lithographs of the twelve stained-glass windows for the synagogue in the Hadassah university medical centre in Jerusalem.
http://www.chagall.nl/www/sorlieren.html

artprice: last works at auction: (updated: 01-mars-2007)
Angel with Candlestick, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Levi, after Marc Chagall
Romeo and Juliet, after Marc Chagall
Carmen, after Marc Chagall
The Magic Flute, after Marc Chagall
Sirene with Pine, after Marc Chagall
Couple in Mimosa, after Marc Chagall
Sunset, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Asher, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Zebulon, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Levi, after Marc Chagall
Romeo and Juliet, after Marc Chagall
Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, after Marc Chagall
Le pain et le vin, d'après une peinture de B.Buffet, affiche
Toréador, d'après une peinture de B.Buffet
Roses et mimosas, after Marc Chagall
Sirene with Poet, after Marc Chagall
Romeo and Juliet, after Marc Chagall
Reitturnier in Ascot, nach Raoul Dufy
La Révolution (1933-1950), nach Marc Chagall
The Angel of Judgement, after Marc Chagall
Carmen, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Dan, from Jerusalem Windows, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Simeon, from Jerusalem Windows, after Marc Chagall
Couple with Bouquet, after Marc Chagall
Roméo et Juliette, after Marc Chagall
Reiter im Park, nach Raoul Dufy
Roses and Mimosas, after Marc Chagall
The Tribe of Zebulun, after Marc Chagall
Romeo and Juliet, after Marc Chagall
The Revolution, after Marc Chagall
http://www.artistsearch.com/artists/SORLIER_CHARLES.htm

Picasso, Pablo: Picasso, LE GOUT DU BONHEUR, A Suite of Happy Playful, and Erotic Drawings ; New York, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. F/VF box has some rubbings, Introduction by Jean Marcenac, This Album comprises three of Picasso's studio sketchbooks dated respectively by the artist according to day, month, and year, as follows, 25-4-64 - 20-5-64, 15-9-64 - 6-10-64, 8-10-64 - 9-10-64. This is the sole edition of recreations that will ever be made of there hitherto unpublished drawings and three publishers have collaborated in its creation. Harry N, Abrams, Inc., New York, Editions cercle d'Art, Paris, Carl Schunemann Verlag, Bremen. The combined edition has been limited to 1998 Albums for the entire world, and these have been divided into three parallel but seperate editions, one for each of the participating publishers,and each separate edition has been numbered from 1 to 666. The re-creations in this Album were printed in the fall of 1970 in the studio of Guenther Dietz, Munich, under the personal supervision of Pablo Picasso. They are in the exact size of the original drawings, and were produced through a unique process that employs the same type of materials as used by the artist, instead of the usual printing inks. Grease crayon, lithographic tusche, lead pencil, and charcoal are among the artist's materials used in making the re-creations in this Album. The paper is handmade and is pure rag Velin d'Arches.

Revue artistique et littèraire. Paraissant quatre fois par an. ; Paris. Edition Verve. 1937-1960. 4to, 38 issues in 26 volumes. Publisher's boards or wrappers. A complete run of one of France's most famous art periodicals. Verve is renowned for the quality of its production (the lithography by Mourlot) and the breadth of subject matter, with contributions by Gide, Malraux,
Tagore, Vollard, Sartre, Joyce, Hemingway, Lorca, etc. No. 1 December 1937 Cover designed by Matisse from gouache decoupee. Lithographs by Leger, Miro, Rattner and Bores. No. 2 Spring 1938 (March-June) Cover designed by Braque. Lithographs by Kandinsky (2) and Masson (2). No. 3 June 1938 Cover designed by Bonnard. Lithographs by Chagall, Miró, Rattner and Klee. No. 4 January-March 1939 Cover designed by Rouault. Lithographs by Matisse and Derain. Nos. 5-6 July-October 1939 Cover designed by Maillol. Lithographs by Guys, Braque, Rouault, Derain, Leger, Bonnard (2), Matisse (2), and Klee. No. 7 April-July 1940 Les TrŹs Riches Heures du Duc de Berry Calendar. No. 8 September-November 1940 Cover designed by Matisse from gouache decoupèe. Lithograph by Bonnard. No. 9 October 1943 Les Fouquet de la BibliothŹque Nationale. No. 10 October 1943 Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Images de la vie de Jesus. No. 11 March 1945 Les Fouquet de Chantilly: Les Heures d'Etienne Chevalier. Vie de Jesus. No. 12 March 1945 Les Fouquet de Chantilly: Les Heures d'Etienne Chevalier. La Vierge et les Saints. No. 13 November 1945 'De la Couleur.' Special issue devoted to Matisse during the years 1941-1945: cover, title-page and frontispiece designed by Matisse from gouache decoupee. Nos. 14-15 February 1946 Jean Bourdichon. Les Heures d'Anne de Bretagne. No. 16 November 1946 Rene d'Anjou. Traitè de la Forme et Devis d'un Tournoi. Nos. 17-18 August 1947 'Couleur de Bonnard.' Special issue devoted to Bonnard during the years 1932-1947: cover and frontispiece designed by Bonnard. Nos. 19-20 April 1948 'Couleur de Picasso.' Special issue devoted to Picasso, cover specially designed by Picasso. Nos. 21-22 October 1948 'Vence 1944-48.' Special issue devoted to Matisse and his work done at Vence between 1944-48: cover and frontispiece designed by Matisse from gouache decoupee, and 40 designs specially made for this issue. No. 23 April 1949 Le Livre du Coeur d'Amour ƒpris du Roi Renè. Cover designed by Matisse. No. 24 April 1950 Contes de Boccace. Peintures du Manuscrit des Ducs de Bourgogne. With cover design and aquatints specially made for this issue by Chagall. Nos. 25-26 October 1951 'Picasso at Vallauris.' Special issue devoted to Picasso and his work done at Vallauris between 1949-51: cover and frontispiece specially designed for this issue by Picasso. Nos. 27-28 December 1952/January 1953 Cover design and lithograph frontispiece by Braque. Lithographs by Braque, Matisse, Laurens, Giacometti, Masson, Leger, Miro, Bores (2), Gromaire (2), and Chagall (Visions de Paris). The original lithographs in this issue are: Miro/1 double-page colour lithograph, Chagall/Series of 8 lithographs, 'Visions de Paris,' 3 in colour, 5 in black and white. Nos. 29-30 September 1954 'Picasso and the Human Comedy. A Suite of 180 Drawings by Picasso (Suite de 180 Dessins de Picasso)' Special issue devoted to Picasso and his work done at Vallauris between 1953-54: cover specially designed for this issue by Picasso. Contains 14 colour plates. Nos. 31-32 September 1955 'The Intimate Sketchbooks of G. Braque (Carnets Intimes).' Special issue devoted to Georges Braque, with cover specially designed by Braque. Contains 20 colour plates. Nos. 33-34 September 1956 Chagall 'Illustrations for the Bible.' Special issue of 29 original lithographs by Chagall: 16 colour, 12 black and white, original colour lithograph titlepage, and cover specially designed by Chagall. Nos. 35-36 July 1958 'The Last Works of Matisse 1950-1954 (DerniŹres oeuvres de Matisse 1950-1954).' Special issue devoted to Matisse, with 39 colour lithographs, 38 black and white, and cover specially designed by Matisse. The first lithographs were printed under the artist's direction in 1954. Nos. 37-38 July 1960 Chagall 'Drawings for the Bible.' Special issue of 24 original colour lithographs, 96 black and white reproductions, and cover specially designed by Chagall.

Marilyn Monroe (F&S 26). Color screenprint after Warhol, c. 1970. Edition unknown. Sunday B. Morning, a Swiss publisher, has issued portfoilos of both Warhol's Marilyns and his Flowers. Each print is stamped on the verso, "Fill in your own signature," a reference to Warhol's habit of signing his works on the verso and his use of rubber stamps.
These silk-screens are in the Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonne with details of how Warhol fell out with some of "The Factory" - his studio - and they took the original silkscreens to Belgium where they printed more. Instead of a rubber stamp on the back saying "Andy Warhol" these have a stamp saying "Sunday B Morning" and " Add your own signature here". The very thing Warhol had objected to, i.e. that the signature was more important than the art, had happened to his work.
Sunday B Morning Screen Print of Warhol's famous Marilyn Monroe image from Warhol's original screens. Stamped Sunday B Morning and "Sign your name here" on verso.
An icon of twentieth-century pop art, Warhol began work on the famous portraits of Marilyn Monroe in 1962. He used the medium of silkscreen printing (where fabric is stretched over a frame to hold stencil designs and carry ink onto the paper) to produce iconic portraits, often with repeated imagery of celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Liz Taylor or Marilyn Monroe herself. These silk screens were produced circa 1970 by Warhol's studio, The Factory in New York, who took the screens to Belgium and printed more from them, extending the earlier edition that was signed by Warhol and limited to only 250 prints. These slightly later silk screens are stamped on the verso "Sunday B. Morning" and "Add your own signature here". This series of prints was produced in ten colour schemes.
The celebrated critic Robert Hughes writes on Warhol's fascination with serial images, which he repeats throughout his work like a mantra invoking the commodification of life and love, politics and religion:
"It all flowed from one central insight: that in a culture glutted with information, where most people experience most things at second or third hand through TV and print, through images that become banal and disassociated by being repeated again and again and again, there is a role for affectless art. You no longer need to be hot and full of feeling. You can be supercool, like a slightly frosted mirror…. . Warhol extended it by using silk screen, and not bothering to clean up the imperfections of the print: those slips of the screen, uneven inkings of the roller, and general graininess. What they suggested was not the humanizing touch of the hand but the pervasiveness of routine error and of entropy… ."
(Robert Hughes, American Visions)
Published by Sunday B. Morning. Unsigned set - during printing Warhol argued with his publishers and withdrew from the agreement resulting in many copies being left unsigned. Original silk screen prints, printed in colors from photographic enlargements. In perfect condition.
Unsigned set - during printing
Warhol argued with his publishers and withdrew from the agreement resulting ...

Be sure to buy quality. All prints sold via Sunday B. Morning.com are handmade screenprints on hard paper, using the same techniques as the original prints printed by Andy Warhol and the Factory in the late 60's.
We sometimes find poor quality Marilyn Monroe prints on the market ; that aren't even screenprints at all. Some prints are on light paper, others are offset prints, posters...
We offer you handmade quality that will stand for years. You will not see the difference with the original signed prints from the 60's.
This makes the opportunity to buy something that is regarded as one of the "Art-masterpieces of the 20th century". Own something after Andy Warhol.
This auction goes for this beautifull print. It is one of the most sought after : "the Silver Marilyn Monroe". It is 36" x 36" or 91.4cm x 91.4cm on white hard quality paper. At the back there are the 2 stamps "Published by Sunday B. Morning" and "Fill in your own signature".

In the art world, you could say that each person is but once removed from Andy Warhol. Everyone has at one time either bought a Warhol, sold a Warhol, written about Warhol, curated a Warhol show, read a book about Warhol, watched a Warhol film or viewed a Warhol in a museum. In theory, Andy Warhol is the unifying element in the world of contemporary art.
It's also true that as the most actively traded artist in the world, Andy Warhol has a disproportionately large influence on the contemporary art market. Anyone interested in the market has only to check out Warhol auction prices to get a quick fix on its overall health. If you looked over Warhol prices from the late 1990s, you probably liked what you saw. From an insignificant Toy painting to a classic Liz, prices exceeded even those from the late 1980s boom market.
The main event of the 1990s was the sale of one of the greatest Pop paintings to ever come up to auction, Orange Marilyn. The 40 by 40 inch painting, made in 1964, sold for $17.3 million at Sotheby's in May, 1998, breaking the previous world record of "only" $4 million for Warhol's Shot Red Marilyn, set nine years earlier in 1989.
Orange Marilyn has a fascinating history. The painting emerged kicking and screaming from Warhol's studio and landed in the lap of the Leo Castelli Gallery. It was immediately purchased by insurance executive Leon Kraushar for approximately $2,500. Even back in 1963, $2,500 was not a lot of money. Yet, it was a gutsy purchase, because Warhol was far from a sure thing. Leon Kraushar, along with Burton and Emily Tremaine, art book publisher Harry Abrams and taxi fleet owner Robert Scull, were America's biggest Pop collectors. Of the four, Kraushar was the least celebrated but, arguably, possessed the best eye.
While the Tremaines, Abrams and Scull were certainly deeply committed collectors, Kraushar could be described as messianic. Listen to his prescience back in 1965 during an interview with Life magazine: "Pop is the art of today, and tomorrow, and all the future. These pictures are like IBM stock, don't forget that, and this is the time to buy, because Pop is never going to die."
It was a shame that Kraushar, who passed away at the end of the 1960s, didn't live long enough to see how right he was. Given how small the art world is, I was only mildly surprised when I wound up meeting his son Fred, who lives in Oakland. Fred continued the story of Orange Marilyn by explaining that his father's death led to his mother's decision to sell the collection in its entirety to the German collector, Carl Ströher.
Fred was just a teenager at the time, and although he got a kick out of the art, he was too young to have any feel for its financial potential. Although his mother got a good price, it was little more than chump change in today's terms. When I told Fred that Orange Marilyn had just sold at auction for over $17 million, he winced and swallowed hard, but maintained his sense of humor by responding, "I feel like putting my head in the oven!"
At any rate, the sale of Orange Marilyn energized the Warhol market and the contemporary art market in general. While many would argue that one spectacular price does not make a market, in reality the sale indicated how high prices could go for quality Warhols. That theory was confirmed at Sotheby's London in December, 1998, when a first-rate, small (12 by 10 inch) Mao brought an outrageous $234,500. The previous high water mark had been exactly $100,000 less.
So what's the outlook for the future? If you're thinking of acquiring a Warhol, the possibilities are almost endless. When it comes to sheer variety of subject matter, Warhol is the most democratic of artists. However, like everything else, it comes down to price and availability. As time goes on, it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy a Warhol painting of any quality for under $50,000.
Over the next few years, if you're willing to think small and are willing to spend up to $50,000, you will still be able to buy: 8-inch-square Flowers, Dollar Signs, Shadows, Guns, Soup Boxes, Knives and Ladies and Gentlemen (drag queens).
If your budget can be stretched to $50,000-$100,000, the following series still offer good value for small-scale works: 14-inch-square Flowers, small Shoes, Hammers and Sickles, and wooden box sculptures (Brillo, Mott's, etc).
Moving up to the $100,000-$200,000 level, I would recommend buying: small Maos, Skulls, Jackies, small Self-Portraits (1978, 1986), and Marilyn Reversals.
In the $250,000-$500,000 range, you can't go wrong with: 24-inch-square Flowers, small Electric Chairs, four-panel Marilyn Reversals, 22-inch-square Self-Portraits (1967, 1986), medium-sized Maos, or small Car Crashes.
One underrated area in Warhol's oeuvre is that of his "anonymous" commissioned portraits. These came about during the early 1970s when Warhol's savvy business manager, Fred Hughes, had an epiphany. He realized that not only would the rich and famous pay good money for Andy to paint their likeness, but the rich and unknown would do the same. After all, everyone wants to be glamorous and immortalized. As Warhol himself said, "If everybody's not a beauty, then nobody is."
Warhol's operating procedure was to invite a potential client to lunch at the studio. She or he would be treated to gourmet food catered by Balducci's and flattered by the opportunity to share a table with a superstar or two. During the 1970s, you never knew who might stop by: Mick Jagger, Halston, John McEnroe, Mikhail Baryshnikov or even Jacqueline Onassis. Thanks in part to his ownership of Interview magazine, Warhol was nothing if not a magnet for the rich and famous. In fact, Warhol should be credited with being early to recognize a future trend -- the birth of America's "celebrity culture."
After lunch, Warhol would invite his now star-struck client (often the wife of a wealthy businessman) into the studio where he would snap 60 or so Polaroids of her. From this group of photos, Warhol would select the most flattering pose and doctor it to make it even more becoming. It was as if he were performing some sort of painless plastic surgery. A photo-silkscreen would be made and Warhol would then screen the image onto four pre-painted 40 by 40 inch canvases. Although the poses were the same, each canvas was painted with varying background colors.
When the works were finished, the sitter was invited back to the studio to select her favorite. If she bought only one, she was charged a standard $25,000. However, if she was having trouble making up her mind, she was discreetly informed that each additional painting was only $15,000. More often than not, her affluent husband would be thrilled by the results and, being a good businessman, buy both of them, averaging them out at only $20,000 apiece. With approximately one weekly sitting at $40,000 a pop, Warhol's portraits alone could have brought in over $2 million a year.
In 1979, the art world got a peek at Warhol's cash machine when the Whitney Museum organized a show devoted entirely to his portraits. Besides his unknown subjects, the exhibition also included paintings of well-known art world figures such as David Hockney and Henry Geldzahler. There was even a sentimental painting of Warhol's mother. Surprisingly, the show was well received by the press. Afterward, dealer Ivan Karp was quoted as saying Warhol's portraiture was "the best of its kind in this century," a statement that would be hard to dispute.
Ironically, you can currently purchase one of these portraits for little more than the sitter originally paid. You might ask, why would you want a painting of an obscure socialite? The answer is, if you can get beyond this thinking, these are large bold Warhol paintings. Warhol's portraits look terrific in a home and are instantly recognizable. Someday, they will be collected the way people collect anonymous 19th-century portraits. During the next five years, they could easily sell for $50,000-$100,000.
A quick final note -- when buying Warhol paintings make sure the picture has a logical provenance (history of ownership) and is either signed or stamped by the estate. When it comes to Warhol paintings, a solid provenance is more important than a signature.
Recommended reading:
Warhol by David Bourdon
Death and Disaster by Paul Alexander
Holy Terror by Bob Colacello
The Andy Warhol Diaries edited by Pat Hackett
POPism by Andy Warhol and Pat Hackett.

Dante Alighieri.: Salvador DALI. La Divine Comédie. 6 volumes. ; Paris: Editions d'Art les Heures Claires, 1963, 1st edition with Dali illustrations, one of 3900 examples with 100 color woodcuts by Dali, printed on Rives hand-made paper, circa 13 x 11 inches (330 x 262 mm), pages loose as issued inside 6 decorated boards folders and slipcases; the woodcuts are single loose pages. The great Surrealist master, Salvador Dali, interprets Dante's classic poem in this great 6-volume set, which comprises 3 parts with 33 cantos each. In "L'Enfer," Dante is guided by Virgil through the 9 Circles of Hell; "Purgatoire" sees Dante at the top of Purgatory mountain; finally, Dante meets Beatrice who takes him to "Paradis". Monod 3398; M/L 1039-1138. This very important illustrated work by Dali, although issued in a large edition, is quite scarce.
In: Gemini Fine Books & Arts

Marc Chagall: The Fables of La Fontaine (1927-1930)
In 1927, Chagall began working on another project for Vollard, a series of etchings illustrating The Fables of La Fontaine. In these plates we move from the fantastic Russia of Chagall’s imagination and memory to the more dream-like world of ancient myth and fable, told and retold, changing from time to time and place to place, but ultimately always the same. Technically these works differ greatly from those of the Dead Souls. As Meyer comments, "Compared with the last sheets for Dead Souls, in the new plates the painterly content appears enormously increased. Chagall now foregoes the application of aquatint and use of the rocking tool; also dry point technique is scarcely evident. Instead, he does everything by means of etching, and covers the engraved surface with stopping out varnish, a combination that makes for intensive painterly effects. The etching needle draws the most delicately ramified foliage and bush patterns, the texture of plumage and soft fur, and through shadings and cross-hatchings gives a range of tonalities . . . from white to a deep black. . . . Thus each picture is the result of a long series of working stages in the course of which the pictorial design in light and dark is slowly worked out in a process comparable to the building up of the color structure in a painting." The Fables illustrate the grand themes of life that interested Chagall in his other works, especally the Biblle: love, death, and human folly. One of our etchings tells the story of the wanderer who was welcomed into the cave of a family of satyrs. After watching him first blow upon his hands to warm them and then upon his soup to cool it, the satyrs become fearful and ask him to leave, deciding that there is no trusting a man who can blow both hot and cold. In the other, a fox and a goat leap into a well together then find they cannnot get out. The fox suggests that the goat let him climb up its back and then out of the well, promising to pull the goat up after he is free. The goat agrees, only to be lectured by the fox on the stupidity about jumping into wells out of which one cannot climb. The moral is "better think of the outcome before you begin."

The etchings for The Fables were executed by Chagall between 1927 and 1930; The Fables was issued in an edition of 200 portfolios on Montval, 40 of which also contained a suite of the etchings on japon nacre and 85 of which contained a suite with hand-coloring by Chagall. In addition, there were 15 portfolios hors commerce. There were also 100 sets of the etchings only on paper with wide margins, each of which was signed and numbered (but not hand-colored).
In 1926, French art dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard commissioned Marc Chagall to illustrate 100 legendary fables by La Fontaine (1621-1695). But with the advent of World War II and private acquisitions, the paintings ended up dispersed throughout Europe; the whereabouts of more than half are currently unknown. The remaining 44 illustrations are united in this handsome, slipcased volume. Essays that set both Chagall's illustrations and La Fontaine's timeless fables in their historical contexts are included, as well as a detailed biography of the artist. The colorful, whimsically designed fable texts, which curve and arch in response to Chagall's pictures, are just one refreshing element of this inventively constructed package, which measures only 8 1/4 by 9 3/8 inches.

Synopsis
Chagall's gouaches illustrate forty-three of La Fontaine's fables, including "The Fox and the Grapes".
There was nationalist outcry in the French press, attacking the choice of a Russian artist to illustrate the beloved French fables. Vollard originally wanted Chagall to do colour engravings in the 19th Century manner and the artist executed one hundred preliminary gouaches but the technical difficulties in reproducing them were so great that Chagall abandoned colour and etched one hundred copper plates to be printed in black. He completed them in the three years between 1927 and 1930, the remarkable biting technique is reminiscent of the first golden age of the pure painter etcher. Drypoint is used only very little and aquatint not at all so that the endlessly graduated tone, the painterly chiaroscuro, is achieved almost entirely through varied biting. The etchings retain a mysterious transparentness and in this loose textured medium the fusion of the bodies of man and beast completely serves Chagall’s dream fantasies.
The etchings remained unpublished until 1952 when they were issued by Tériade in an edition of two hundred copies only.

In 1928-31, Chagall produced a series of black and white etchings inspired by the La Fontaine's Fables, also published by Vollard, who became Chagall's mentor and source of inspiration with his concepts for print projects. In these works the artist employed every conceivable etching technique in an effort to bestow upon them a painterly quality. At roughly the same time, Vollard had the vision to commission from Chagall a series of gouache paintings based on circus imagery. These two projects stirred the fertile imagination of Marc Chagall and he spawned amazing imagery that influenced many of his later works. This was a happy, busy time for Chagall. He was able to enjoy the lifestyle of a successful artist in the French City of Light and this was reflected in festive, elegant and romantic compositions he painted often portraying his wife, Bella and himself. In the early 1930's the economic and political crisis that beset Europe also had its effect upon Chagall. Nazi persecution of the Jews made the artist more aware of his own Jewish roots and caused him to long for a more serious type of artistic expression of deeper significance to the human condition. Vollard's 1931 commission of 100 etchings depicting the Bible coincided perfectly with the artist's mood and he responded immediately by travelling to the Holy Land to absorb the setting of the Old Testament. There he was moved by the solemn beauty of the area and its splendid light as he began work on a project and a body of images that would continue to play a major role in his future work. This commission marked the beginning of the religious side of the artist's work. At the outset of WWII which nearly coincided with Ambroise Vollard's death in an automobile accident, two-thirds of the plates were completed with most of the balance already started. In this same period of time Chagall had traveled to Spain in 1934 to study the works of Velazquez, Goya and El Greco, and in 1937 he journeyed to Italy to contemplate the works of Titian. From these pilgrimages he derived the concept of painting on a larger scale, with a more diverse color palette and a greater depth of meaning.

Nouveau Cercle Parisien du Livre, Paris 1955, first edition, 140 copies (total edition 240), produced hors commerce for the members of the club and contributors. The edition contains 22 excellent original woodcuts (20 hors-texte) engraved by Georges Aubert after drawings by Pablo Picasso. This copy has an additional suite of 21 full-page woodcuts, printed on cream stock, in a separate wrapper portfolio inserted in the back. The total number of hors-texte (full-page) prints in this copy is 41. Picasso produced the drawings on Vollard's request to illustrate the play by André Suares. Large folio (18 x 13.5 inches; 441 x 328 mm), text in French, 203 pages, all leaves loose in 2 wrapper portfolios, boards chemise and slipcase. References: Monod no.10485; Rauch no.80; Johnson (Vollard) no.193; Solvay 861; Strachan "The Artist & The Book in France", p.340; Geiser-Bolliger 1955; Horodisch p.75; not in G-Cramer.