MARC CHAGALL "Le Rieur et les Poissons" 1927 ( The Jester and the Fishes ) Plate 82 " from "Fables De la Fontaine" Etching on Montval paper Sheet: 42 x 34 cm , with full margins Edition of 100, not individually numbered (as issued) Hand signed lower right and annotated "82", that refer to plate 82 from the suite "Fable de la Fontaine" which is composed by 100 plates Published by Tériade, Paris, Publications / Catalogue Raisonnée : This print is fully documented and referenced in the official Catalogue Raisonnée - Cramer "Chagall - Les Livre Illustrés" no. 22 Historical Notes: In 1927, Chagall began working on another project for Vollard, a series of etchings illustrating The Fables of La Fontaine. In these plates we move from the fantastic Russia of Chagall’s imagination and memory to the more dream-like world of ancient myth and fable, told and retold, changing from time to time and place to place, but ultimately always the same. Each picture is the result of a long series of working stages in the course of which the pictorial design in light and dark is slowly worked out in a process comparable to the building up of the color structure in a painting. The Fables illustrate the grand themes of life that interested Chagall in his other works: love, death, and human folly. Condition Report: Excellent condition, the full sheet