Chagall: The Lithographs (Hardcover)

by Marc Chagall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Chagall: The Lithographs is a vast collection (1,050 individual pieces) dating from 1922 to 1985. The Russian-born artist lived most of his adulthood in France and is well known for his colorful and exuberant depictions of Jewish life. His work often addresses personal themes and intimate visions, such as his marriage and his deeply held faith. He worked in many media, but, "Lithography soon became his favored printing technique. This is certainly due primarily to the one element he had previously always missed in his graphic art: color. Color is employed in Chagall's work with greatly varying intensity, from watercolor-like washes and fragile crayon lines to opaque layers whose effect closely resembles that of his luminescent gouaches." This beautifully produced catalogue raisonné includes descriptions of Chagall's lithographic process, which utilized stone or zinc plates and acid, and interviews with the printers who worked with Chagall to produce these pieces. This is a lovely, colorful book that reproduces many of the best examples of this important artist's favorite works.

From Library Journal
This sumptuous production succeeds as both an exhibition catalog (for a show in Stuttgart to Hamburg this spring) and a catalogue raisonn of 1050 Chagall lithographs drawn from the incomparable collection of his printer for 35 years, Charles Sorlier (192190). Fernand Mourlot and Sorlier authored the definitive six-volume lithograph oeuvre catalog (196086). The present catalog describes and reproduces, often in resonant colors, each print in the Sorlier collection, which date from 1922 to 1985. Descriptions update and enhance information from Mourlot/Sorlier, thus creating the most complete entries for prints included in both sources. Many prints carry dedications and playful doodles by Chagall. Interspersed are one-page critical texts on trademark series such as Daphnis and Chloe and The Circus. Interviews with Chagall, texts on his lithography, and writings on the Sorlier collaboration and collection serve as an introduction; a biographical chronology, bibliography, and interviews in their original versions complete the work. This monumental undertaking is of supreme importance to research collections.Russell T. Clement, Univ. of Tennessee Lib., Knoxville
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. (November 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891024078
• ISBN-13: 978-1891024078
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 9.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #757,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For any Chagall fan!, July 5, 2000

By	Peter (Canada) - See all my reviews

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! :)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should come with a magnifying glass!, April 20, 2005

By	Debbie the Book Devourer "dletour7" (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

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.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT!, June 2, 2000

By	"pdana" (PA, USA) - See all my reviews

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.