Jean Leymarie & Gérald Cramer - Marc Chagall, Monotypes 1966-1975 [n°976/1320] - 1976

Jean Leymarie & Gérald Cramer – Marc Chagall, Monotypes 1966-1975 [no. 976/1320] – 1976

Catalog raisonné of the monotypes by Marc Chagall (1887-1985), created between 1966 and 1975 (vol. II).
Copy No. 976.

Original edition limited to 1,320 numbered copies; publisher’s full cloth binding under an illustrated dust jacket.
Edited by Gérald Cramer Editions, Geneva

106 pages; many illustrations printed in color photolithography and pasted off-text, the others in black and white.
Dimensions: 27.5 x 21.5 cm

Texts by Jean Leymarie
Catalogue compiled by Gérald Cramer

Printed on October 20, 1976, in Lausanne at the presses of Imprimeries Réunies S.A.
The text, set in Garamond font sizes 14 and 10, is printed on fine white vellum paper from Papeteries Biberist, with vignettes on fine white coated paper.
Photolithography and printing were carried out by Imprimeries Réunies S.A., Lausanne.
The binding was carried out by Maison Mayer et Soutter S.A., Renens.

Very good condition, fresh interior, slight sunburn on the jacket, all visible in the photos.

A rare reference work, this comprehensive catalogue highlights one of the most personal chapters of Marc Chagall's oeuvre: the monotype.

In these prints, Chagall moves away from grand narrative cycles to explore pure gesture, direct imprint, and the fleeting encounter between color and paper. This process, halfway between painting and printmaking, perfectly embodies his quest for spontaneity and poetry: each proof, unique by nature, becomes a space of total freedom, a theater where his eternal themes—love, memory, faith, and dreams—come alive again with a freshness never seen before.

We find the key elements of his universe: intertwined couples suspended in the air, musicians from Russian villages, animals bearing biblical symbols, deep blues and fiery reds that transform reality into a vision. The monotype, with its fragility and immediacy, best expresses the poetic breath of Chagall — that suspended moment when emotion becomes color.

Published by Jean Leymarie and Gérald Cramer, this volume offers a direct immersion into the master’s studio, bringing you close to his creative gesture.