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Marc Chagall
Gogol: Tsarist Soldiers (Soldats tsaristes), 1948
Medium: Original engraving on Arches vellum, signed on the plate
Dimensions: 38 × 28 cm
Status: Available
Description
An original engraving from Marc Chagall’s monumental project illustrating Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls. Chagall began preparing the copper plates in 1923, but the demanding work was only completed in 1948, when the edition was finally published by Tériade. In Tsarist Soldiers, Chagall captures Gogol’s satirical world with a blend of folkloric imagery, expressive linework, and surreal stylization, making it both a literary and artistic landmark.
Provenance
From the limited edition of 368 numbered copies, published by Tériade in 1948; part of Chagall’s engraved illustrations for Gogol’s Dead Souls. Catalogue raisonné: Chagall & Ambroise Vollard, no. 57.
