Customer Reviews

Chagall: The Lithographs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never thought that I would own that book one day because of its price. But as a HUGE fan of this artist, I have finally decided to buy it... and I don't regret it! I bought many books on Chagall's painting, and this one is undoubtebly a masterpiece. It is beautifully illustrated and excellently documented. The interviews at the beginning of the book (for example, the one with Henri Deschamps) are quite interesting, and the global "presentation" of the book is simple but beautiful. The only thing that disappointed me a little is that I was kind of hoping to see more full-page lithographs. I knew that this was a catalogue raisonné before I bought it, but was hoping just the same to see more one-page illustrations, although the ones that are there (for example, the complete paintings for Daphnis and Chloé) are wonderful. The quality of printing is just superb and this book is definitely a good buy for any Chagall afficionado. In fact, I would say that this book, completed with "Chagall" by Jacob Baal-Teshuva (Taschen)-- if you could find it!-- would be the best two buys you could do. Trust me! :)

Chagall was such a prolific artist that of course any book that is a complete catalog of anything he did, let alone lithography, would have to have small pictures or require a forklift. Nonetheless, it's a pity that so many of the lithographs in this book are reproduced in a size not much bigger than a postage stamp.

And while I found the text and interviews at the front somewhat interesting, I thought parts of the interviews seemed like name-dropping exercises. The book was originally written in French, I believe, and some of the translation throughout was unevenly done, if at all.

But hey -- it's Chagall! To see page after page of his brilliant works is still a pure joy, even if you suffer eyestrain as a result. And the many page-size reproductions were certainly treats for the eye. And to have a complete collection to look at, well, that almost makes up for the tiny reproductions.

I have seen many, many Chagall Litographs and books on them and this one is the BEST! It lists every single Litograph ever made by Chagall, it's worth every penny.

THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN THE COMPLETE LITHOGRAPHIC WORKS OF CHAGALL.

THERE IS NO INDEX.

After your third or fourth search, you will find 2 out of 3 lithographs, and never the one that's really important to you.

The information is cryptic, but very complete when it's there.

You will see the lithographs in better shape than you could possibly hope for, with personal messages to those lucky Sorliers.

I almost returned it -- I even printed out the return label -- but sometimes I found what I needed to know, knowing that I could never find that crucial detail anywhere else. And the print job is way above and beyond. I'm still stunned that it's available for under $100!

This book is a must for any Chagall collector or just those who enjoy his work. The quality of the pictures is great. The information nearly flawless.

I wish this well illustrated catalogue raisonne included the information for all prints in the editions rather than just the ones belonging to Sorlier. Many of Sorlier's prints are "HC" prints or "Epreuve de collaborateur" prints in which case you may have to seak another source to discover the edition numbers for the specific print you're researching. Other than that - nicely illustrated (though the illustrations are small, it is not designed as a book to showcase the prints as reproductions) and chronologically arranged.

This was the most wonderful book I have ever seen on Chagall, and believe me, I've seen them all. Where as most books take away from his pictures with a crowded setup, this book gives his paintings all the credit they deserve. When I saw Chagall's paintings they made me all wet and excited, definitely a keeper.