Marc Chagall (1887-1985) - La Femme de Pothiphar - The wife of Pothiphar

Etching executed 1931-1939, printed 1956-1958, handcoloured in watercolour by Chagall and numbered and signed with initials in pencil in 100 copies. Size of the etching: 29,5 x 24,5 cm printed on Arches 53,2 x 38,8 cm. Registered and illustrated in Patrick Cramer, Marc Chagall The illustrated books as no 30.
In fine condition, no damages to the sheet, colours strong, a light shadow of a previous passepartout and some remains of acidfree papermounting verso

There is an unsigned, unnumbered book edition of 275+XX copies on smaller paper 44 x 33,5 cm (Cramer no 29)
Ambroise Vollard in 1931 commissioned Chagall to execute 105 etchings for an edition of the Bible and Chagall etched the plates from 1931 to 1939. Due to WWII and the death of Vollard in 1939 the book edition was not published till 1956 by Teriade who had bought the plates and etchings printed from the estate of Vollard. The numberdd, signed and watercoloured editon was published separately in 1958.

Virginia Haggard describes in her book My Life With Chagall, how their house had Bible etdhings spread out all over, because Chagall insisted on handcolouring all the Bible etchings personally (which was a bit unusual at the time). Many of them were coloured with only one colour but Pothiphars Wife is extensively handcoloured in several colours - maybe because Chagall had used his own features for the portrait of Joseph

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