Bible

Chagall first visited Paris from 1910 to 1914, and it was here that he first caught sight of the famous dealer and publisher Ambroise Vollard.

“Vollard’s shop particularly attracted me… I press against the window, flatten my nose against it, and suddenly I bump into Vollard, himself. He is alone in the middle of his shop, wearing an overcoat. I’m afraid to enter. He looks sullen. I dare not.” (The artist, quoted in: C. Sorlier, Marc Chagall et Ambroise Vollard, Paris, 1981, pp.14-15)

It was not, however, until almost a decade later that the artist and publisher first met. Vollard’s genius as a publisher was to commission prints and books from talented artists, whether or not they were experienced printmakers. Following the successful publication of Chagall’s first portfolio of etchings Mein Leben by the Berlin publisher Paul Cassirer, Vollard urged the artist to move to Paris to work with him. On the first of September 1923, Chagall arrived back in Paris with his wife and daughter.

In the wake of their first meeting, Chagall who had always had a great interest in literature, agreed to illustrate an edition of the classic Russian novel, Les Ames Mortes (see lot 31) by Nicolai Gogol. This established a close working relationship between the pair, which saw Vollard commission two further illustrated books from Chagall, Les Fables de la Fontaine (see lot 32), and La Bible (the present lot). Unfortunately, Vollard’s sudden death from a car accident in 1939 meant he never saw the completion of these books, and following the outbreak of World War II their production was put on hold. It was not until after the war that the finished books were published by Tériade.

Chagall had always been fascinated by the Bible, it was a subject he had known from infancy and strongly resonated with him, “for Jewish people alone these stories are the history of their forefathers and the living reality which is of prime importance in the history of each individual too…” (The artist, quoted in M. Bussi, Twentieth-century Masters - Chagall, London, 1971, p. 31).

In 1931, in preparation for La Bible, Chagall visited Egypt, Syria and finally Palestine. This trip to the Holy Land would become a life-changing experience for the artist. “When I had to illustrate the ‘Bible’… I wanted to see Palestine, I wanted to touch the land. I came to verify certain feelings...” (The artist, quoted in: C. Sorlier, 1981, p. 18). Upon his return to Paris, he dedicated himself almost entirely to the making of the etchings.

La Bible covers a range of stories form the Old Testament, ranging from the Creation of Man and Noah’s Ark, to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, and David slaying Goliath. Each plate blends Chagall’s Jewish heritage, imagination and style with the familiar biblical stories. He does so in such a way, through giving the characters an individuality and imbuing the stories with emotion, that the reader can form personal connections to these other-worldly narratives. La Bible brings together the spontaneity and energy of Les Ames Mortes with the technique and intelligence of Les Fables in one complete, engraved masterpiece.

While 66 plates were completed by 1939, the remaining 39 were made upon Chagall’s return to France in 1952. It was finally published in 1956.