Manilov and Tchitchikov at the Doorstep (Manilov et Tchitchikov sur le seuil de la porte), plate IX (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes

Manilov and Tchitchikov at the Doorstep (Manilov et Tchitchikov sur le seuil de la porte), plate IX (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes is an etching and drypoint created by Marc Chagall in 1923. This illustrative work is part of a larger, ambitious project: a luxury edition of Nikolai Gogol’s seminal 19th-century satirical novel, Dead Souls (Les Âmes mortes). The plate depicts the scene where the protagonist, Pavel Ivanovich Tchitchikov, arrives at the estate of the landowner Manilov, capturing the initial, overly polite awkwardness of their meeting as they encounter each other on the threshold of the home.

Chagall began work on the etchings for Dead Souls in Berlin in 1923, shortly before relocating to France where the project continued to develop. Relying on the stark contrasts afforded by etching and drypoint, Chagall eschewed the vibrant color palette characteristic of his oil paintings. Instead, he utilized sharp, expressive black lines and careful cross-hatching to emphasize the novel’s sense of psychological claustrophobia and dark, brooding atmosphere. This approach demonstrates the artist's exceptional skill as a printmaker, yielding high-quality fine art prints that rely solely on tonality and line weight to convey narrative depth.

Though the initial plates were produced in the early 1920s, the entire Illustrated Book classification project spanned the period of 1923-48. This print belongs to the supplementary suite, which provided additional visual insights into Gogol's intricate critique of the Russian gentry. The composition of Manilov and Tchitchikov at the Doorstep reflects Chagall’s profound, if often unsettling, connection to the literary and cultural traditions of his Russian heritage, even as he established himself within the thriving community of French modernists. This significant graphic work is preserved in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), making it an accessible piece of the artist's print oeuvre.