Accession Number
1949/1.170

Title
The Grandmother

Artist(s)
Marc Chagall

Artist Nationality
Belorussian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1922

Medium & Support
etching and drypoint on paper

Dimensions
8 3/16 in x 6 5/16 in (20.8 cm x 16 cm);19 in x 14 in (48.3 cm x 35.6 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
This print comes from a portfolio of twenty works Chagall created as part of first explorations of the printmaking medium. Though spending much time in France, Chagall always held on to his Jewish and Russian heritage; he had just left Russia again in 1922 when this work was created. The portfolio, Mein Leben, was created when Chagall was first learning printmaking in Berlin. The gallerist Paul Cassirer saw a manuscript for an autobiography Chagall had been working on and though originally hoping that the prints would be accompanied with this text, there were too many issues in translating Chagall's writing. Nonetheless, a set of prints was produced, detailing scenes of Chagall himself, his family members—such as this work of his grandmother—scenes of early memories of his life in Vitebsk, and locals from the village.

Physical Description
This work shows an elderly woman sitting on a bench, reading a book. She wears a scarf over her head. Next to her on the bench is an animal—possibly a monkey—that sits upright. There is a wash of grey ink above the woman's head, a faint sketch of a lamp, and spots of black ink. 

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
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Keywords
book
grandmother
grandmothers
illustration (process)
modern and contemporary art
portfolios (groups of works)
reading (activity)