At Mother's Grave (Am Grabstein der Mutter) from My Life (Mein Leben)

At Mother's Grave (Am Grabstein der Mutter) from My Life (Mein Leben) by Marc Chagall is an intensely personal etching created in 1922 and subsequently published in 1923 as part of the artist's celebrated autobiographical portfolio. The piece belongs to a series of twenty etchings, fifteen of which also utilize drypoint technique, constituting an Illustrated Book that visually chronicles significant events and memories from Chagall’s early life.

This work exemplifies Chagall’s mastery of graphic media. Executed with meticulous line work, the etching technique, combined with the rich, tonal quality afforded by the drypoint elements, emphasizes the deeply emotive subject matter. The print depicts the artist’s contemplation of mortality and family memory, themes central to his entire body of work. Although born in Russia, Chagall had settled in Paris by this time, and the production of these prints marks a key creative chapter following his return to Europe after the Russian Revolution. This period saw Chagall successfully integrate his Yiddish-Hassidic cultural heritage with the developing visual vocabularies of early modern French artistic movements.

The overall style retains the floating, sometimes melancholic figures and distorted perspectives associated with Expressionism, yet rendered with a delicate precision appropriate for the medium of printmaking. The publication of Mein Leben in 1923 cemented Chagall’s reputation as a visionary illustrator and graphic artist, contributing substantially to the history of modern French art. This work, At Mother's Grave, offers an intimate look at the foundational memories that defined the artist. The specific impression resides within the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), affirming its status as a vital piece of twentieth-century autobiographical prints. As a major contribution to 1920s graphic design, the legacy of Chagall’s illustrative output remains highly influential, with high-quality reproductions of these historical works often becoming available through public domain initiatives over time.