Creighton University

Here is the masterpiece of our collection!  This first portfolio contains 51 of Chagall's etchings, with a list of fables at the conclusion of each volume.  As in Volume 2, the cover is also an original etching.  Limited to 200 copies on vélin de Rives.  I fear that listing favorites among the etchings will have me listing almost all.  Among the best are FC (1); WL (5); "Child and Schoolmaster" (10); "Lion and Gnat" (18); SS (19) CW (25); MSA (28); WC (34); FG (35); "Cook and Swan" (36); and "Mother, Wolf, and Child" (48).

Here is the masterpiece of our collection!  This second portfolio contains 49 of Chagall's etchings, with a list of fables at the conclusion of each volume.  As in Volume 1, the cover is also an original etching.  Limited to 200 copies on vélin de Rives.  I fear that listing favorites among the etchings will have me listing almost all.  Among the best are: "Old Woman and Two Maids" (56); "Satyr and Traveler" (57); "Bear and Two Travelers" (63); "Young Widow" (72); MM (75); "Cobbler and Financier" (79); "Secret" (80); "Dog with Master's Lunch" (81); "Ass and Lapdog" (86); and "Farmer and Squeaking Pig" (92).

Teriade published 200 copies of Chagall’s etchings of La Fontaine’s fables in 1952.  The etchings had been completed back by 1931 after he had completed and sold a set of 100 colored gouaches by 1930.  Vollard never published either the gouaches or the etchings.  Teriade took up the plates in 1952, and Chagall hand-colored 85 of the 200 copies.  My question remains: are all 85 (nearly?) identical?  The coloring is as creative as the approaches to the fables.  Sometimes it seems there was only a bit of color here or there.  In our collection, the best representation of these hand-colored etchings is the 2011 edition by Goldmark Gallery, “Marc Chagall: The Fables of La Fontaine: 100 etchings hand-coloured by Chagall.”  Might the coloring of “The Secret” here make the left-hand woman more aggressive, while the occasional dabs of yellow enhance the receptivity, surprise, and even passivity of the right-hand figure?

I was happy to include this etching in our Joslyn Exhibit, “I See That Fable Differently.”  As we pointed out then, Chagall plays with the scene.  While the goat and sheep huddle quietly in the corner of the cart, both the pig and the farmer in the foreground are depicted tense and open-mouthed.  The pig’s excitement extends even to his posture, seemingly caught mid-air as he jumps around.  The dark nature of the piece suggests the somber message of the fable.  Giving one’s flesh is a lot different than giving one’s milk or fleece!

Here is another fascinating piece of work!  Up in the left corner are Perrette’s destination and some of the animals in her daydreams.  Her figure is quite contorted as she manages the pitcher on her head.  Her head is at a particularly unusual angle.  Among the versions of this fable is one that has her falling on a bumpy road.  Is that lumpy road suggested here under her feet?  And are those the clouds of dreams hovering above her and either growing or dissipating, depending on which direction one takes in viewing them?  Poor Perrette!

This copy is smaller than our several original etchings.  It invites a viewer to notice the differences between an original and a very good copy.  The fable is delightful.  The wolf and the fox are arguing over an alleged robbery by the fox from the wolf.  The monkey judge listens and finds them both guilty, one of robbery and the other of a false accusation.  If we know a person’s character, we can judge easily whether she or he is guilty or not!