Iskusstvo Marka Shagala (The Art of Marc Chagall)

Iskusstvo Marka Shagala (The Art of Marc Chagall) is a foundational illustrated book created by Marc Chagall in 1918. This pivotal work documents and promotes the artist’s early career, capturing him at a moment of intense transition following the Russian Revolution and concurrent with the rising stature of European modernism. Classified specifically as an illustrated book, the medium is characterized by a letterpress cover, utilizing print technologies common for artistic publications during the late 1910s.

The piece holds particular historical weight as an example of 1918 cultural output. While Chagall’s early roots were in Vitebsk and Saint Petersburg, the context and influence of the time firmly link the publication to the developing French avant-garde, where Chagall had previously spent formative years engaging with Cubism and Fauvism. These publications, functioning as portable retrospectives, were essential tools for disseminating the theories and output of modernist masters to a broader audience across the continent. Chagall’s work in this period demonstrates his unique synthesis of folkloric themes and revolutionary visual structures.

Unlike his well-known paintings, the execution of this illustrated book relies on principles of graphic design and typography alongside the integrated illustrations. This shift in medium allowed Chagall to engage directly with the technology of mass production. The letterpress cover itself contributes a graphic, authoritative presence to the volume, distinguishing it from purely fine-art products.

This significant French publication, Iskusstvo Marka Shagala (The Art of Marc Chagall), is preserved in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), ensuring its continued study. As one of the earliest texts dedicated entirely to the artist, this book remains a critical reference for scholars tracking the emergence of 20th-century artistic biography. Today, high-quality digital scans and prints derived from such historical volumes are often made available through public domain initiatives, offering global access to Chagall’s vital early work from 1918.