Madame Korobotchka, plate XV (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes

Madame Korobotchka, plate XV (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes by Marc Chagall, executed in 1923, is a sophisticated example of the artist’s early illustration work. This plate is classified as an illustrated book piece, utilizing a highly detailed combination of etching, aquatint, and drypoint techniques. The varied intaglio methods allowed Chagall to achieve deep, velvety blacks, crisp lines, and varied textures, giving the satirical character a stark, graphic quality perfectly suited to the source material.

This print is one of the supplementary pieces created for the French edition of Nikolai Gogol’s classic Russian novel, Dead Souls (Les Âmes mortes). Produced during a key period of Chagall’s career in France, this work reflects his characteristic blend of expressive distortion and narrative symbolism, translated effectively into the medium of prints. Although the literary source is Russian, the production and publication of the illustrated book were centered in Paris, reinforcing the piece's classification within French culture of the 1920s.

Chagall depicts Madame Korobotchka, one of Gogol's notoriously miserly and dense landowning characters, with a sense of psychological isolation and grotesque exaggeration, capturing the satirical tone of the narrative. The period 1923-48 covers the initial creation and subsequent distribution of the limited edition set, confirming the work’s importance within the artist’s graphic oeuvre.

Chagall's black-and-white illustrations for the Gogol text are considered foundational examples of 20th-century book illustration, where the constraints of the print medium encouraged dramatic, expressionistic compositions. The resulting work, including the depiction of Madame Korobotchka, holds enduring significance in the history of modern graphic art. This specific impression of the print is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, underscoring its historical and artistic value.