Die Grossmutter. Grandmother by Marc Chagall, 1887-1985

Marc Chagall, 1887-1985
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Die Grossmutter. Grandmother

Original etching with drypoint in black ink. 1922. Signed in pencil. Numbered in pencil from the edition of 110 impressions. (Total edition 110 impressions.) Published by Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 1922, Issued in the series: Mein Leben - My Life.
Ref: Kornfeld - Marc Chagall Etchings, No. 4

Excellent rich impression. On pale cream light laid paper, Exceptionally fine condition. Full margins. Sheet: 14 5/8" x 10˝". Plate: 8 1/8" x 6Ľ" (208x159mm).

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The series of studies which Chagall etched under the title My Life - Mein Leben in 1922 includes some of his finest early prints. Grandmother - Die Grossmutter - is one of the major works in the series. It underlines not only the extraordinary compositional and thematic inspiration of the images but also Chagall?s extremely inventive approach to the whole medium of etching, for example in the contrasts of line, light, and above all texture created through the mixture of the etched and the drypoint strokes.

The studies in the ?My Life? series use images taken from Chagall?s childhood and youth in the enclosed world of the Russian Jewish villages, in particular the mixture of the idea of ?family? and ?tradition?. They are autobiographical but at the same time, through his totally personal and inventive handling of composition and picture arrangement, Chagall made them universal statements. The self-portrait in the guise of a cat in this work is typical of this irreverent approach to the accepted conventions of composition or imagery.