Envy I (L'Envie I) from The Seven Deadly Sins (Les Sept péchés capitaux) by Marc Chagall is a compelling example of early 20th-century graphic art, executed in 1925 and formally published the following year. This piece is one component of a larger portfolio comprising sixteen etching and drypoints, wherein the artist channeled weighty moral and theological subjects through the intimate and expressive print medium. Created during Chagall’s mature period in France, the series allowed the Russian-born master to merge the folkloric elements of his heritage with the sophisticated formal innovations of the Parisian avant-garde.
The medium, a combination of etching and drypoint, is ideally suited to Chagall’s highly personalized aesthetic. Etching permits fine, controlled detail, while the drypoint process-involving directly scoring the plate-yields a distinctive burr around the line, creating velvety shadows and rich textures that emphasize the emotional intensity of the subject. While the specifics of the composition are evocative of the consuming psychological state of Envy, Chagall typically relied on fractured perspectives and hybrid figurative elements to interpret such complex human flaws. This expressionistic approach transformed the traditional iconography of the deadly sins into a modern commentary on human nature.
This set of prints stands as a significant achievement within Chagall’s printmaking oeuvre. His commitment to universal moral themes, rendered through the graphic intensity of the etching medium, solidified his reputation as a master illustrator as well as a painter. Classified specifically as a print from the 1925, published 1926 period, this important work resides in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), underscoring its historical relevance in the study of French modernism. Today, reproductions of this profound piece continue to serve as essential reference material in the academic study of Chagall's extensive body of work.
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