The Superintendant (L'Intendant), plate XI (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes

The Superintendant (L'Intendant), plate XI (supplementary suite) from Les Âmes mortes is a compelling illustration created by Marc Chagall in 1923. This work, rendered using the demanding intaglio techniques of etching and drypoint, belongs to the supplementary suite of prints Chagall produced for Nikolai Gogol’s 1842 satirical masterpiece, Dead Souls (Les Âmes mortes). Chagall received the commission to illustrate the novel from publisher Ambroise Vollard shortly after returning to Paris, marking a significant transition in his career toward mastering the graphic arts.

The period of 1923-48 saw Chagall firmly established in the French artistic scene, where he dedicated substantial effort to printmaking. Unlike the vibrant color and fantastical imagery of his contemporaneous paintings, the etchings for Dead Souls are characterized by their strict reliance on line and shadow, lending the compositions a stark, monochromatic gravity perfectly suited to Gogol’s dark narrative. The combination of etching, which provided precise line work, and drypoint, which added rich, velvety burr and texture, allowed Chagall to achieve a dynamic range of tonal contrasts.

The piece, classified as an Illustrated Book component, focuses on a single figure: the title subject, The Superintendant (L'Intendant). Chagall captures the essence of the bureaucratic and often corrupt minor officials that populate Gogol’s critique of provincial Russian society. The visual language employed by Chagall transforms the literary figure into a powerful visual metaphor, utilizing dramatic scale and distorted perspective typical of his early graphic style. This work is a premier example of 20th-century French printmaking and is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), recognizing its importance both within the history of illustrated literature and Chagall’s profound technical achievements.