Madame Sobakévitch, plate XXXIII (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes is an etching and drypoint created by Marc Chagall in 1923. This powerful work belongs to Chagall’s celebrated series of illustrations for Nikolai Gogol's 1842 satirical masterpiece, Dead Souls (Les Âmes mortes). Though conceived and begun in Paris, this major French cultural project involved a meticulous and lengthy production timeline spanning the period of 1923-48.
The work is classified as an Illustrated Book print, showcasing the artist’s unique ability to merge the psychological depth of Gogol’s narrative with his own distinctive modernist vision. Chagall employed the demanding technique of etching, frequently augmented by the rich, velvety quality of drypoint, allowing him to create intensely expressive and textural surfaces. The resulting image of Madame Sobakévitch, one of the novel’s bizarre and grasping landowners, is characterized by dense, often scratchy lines and stark contrasts, perfectly mirroring the dark absurdity of the source material.
Chagall was commissioned for this ambitious undertaking by the influential art dealer Ambroise Vollard. However, delays caused by the complexities of printing and the subsequent outbreak of World War II meant that the final publication occurred long after the initial creation, accounting for the expansive 1923-48 publication period.
The series is recognized as one of the most important instances of 20th-century artistic-literary collaboration. This particular plate, reflecting the artist’s early engagement with printmaking in France, is a definitive example of his draftsmanship. This piece, along with the full portfolio of prints for Les Âmes mortes, resides within the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Today, the historical importance of such masterworks ensures that high-quality prints, sometimes entering the public domain, remain widely accessible for artistic study and appreciation.
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