The Overturned Carriage (La Britchka s'est renversée), plate XIV (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes

The Overturned Carriage (La Britchka s'est renversée), plate XIV (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes, created by Marc Chagall in 1923, is a superb example of the artist's skill in graphic art. This powerful etching was executed as part of a major commission to illustrate Nikolai Gogol’s seminal 1842 satirical novel, Dead Souls. The supplementary suites often contained the most expressive and surreal images, serving to highlight the inherent chaos, poverty, and disruption that permeate Gogol's narrative about the provincial Russian bureaucracy.

Chagall produced 118 etchings for the complete edition, a highly ambitious project undertaken while the artist established his career in France. Executed with precise, deeply incised lines and detailed cross-hatching, the image captures a moment of sudden disarray, embodying the dark humor that defines the source material. This period, 1923-48, marks Chagall’s immersion into the French school of graphic illustration, where his unique vision—a synthesis of Russian folklore, Jewish symbolism, and European modernism—flourished.

The decision to utilize etching allowed Chagall to translate the psychological intensity of the scenes with great clarity and emotional depth, differentiating this body of work from his more widely known oil paintings. These graphic works reflect the shifting currents of post-World War I European art, demonstrating a masterful balance between narrative realism and Cubist-influenced distortion. The complexity of the composition and the technical proficiency cement the complete volume of Les Âmes mortes as one of the defining Illustrated Books of the 20th century. This influential piece is preserved in the comprehensive collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where it serves as a critical example of modern French prints.