Celui qui dit des choses sans rien dire (Louis Aragon), 1975-76: Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall (1887–1985)

From Celui qui dit des choses sans rien dire (Louis Aragon), 1975–76

Original colour etching with aquatint on Rives wove paper

Hand signed in pencil lower right

Published by Maeght Éditeur, Paris

Bearing the publisher's dry watermark

Louis Aragon (1897–1982) was one of France's most influential twentieth-century poets, novelists and intellectuals, and a lifelong friend of Marc Chagall. Their collaboration on Celui qui dit des choses sans rien dire ("He Who Says Things Without Saying Anything"), published by Maeght Éditeur in 1975–76, brought together Aragon's poetry with twenty-five original colour etchings and aquatints by Chagall in one of the artist's most celebrated late illustrated books. The work was issued as a deluxe edition of 205 copies, together with 20 hors commerce copies reserved for the artist, publisher and collaborators.

Rather than illustrating the poems literally, Chagall responded to their atmosphere and emotional resonance with images that move effortlessly between memory, imagination and dream. Floating figures, animals, lovers and village scenes appear throughout the series, reflecting themes that had occupied the artist for decades while creating a visual counterpart to Aragon's poetic language.

This impression survives as the complete published opening, preserving Aragon's poem opposite Chagall's accompanying image exactly as originally conceived for the publication. The poem celebrates the painter's ability to evoke memory, love and imagination, opening:

How beautiful your colours are,
My painter with the bitter scent of almonds,
You who paint sleeping lovers
In memory and in oblivion.

Printed on Rives wove paper and bearing the publisher's dry watermark, this impression is hand signed in pencil by Chagall on the etching itself and demonstrates the luminous colour, delicate line and poetic symbolism that characterise his mature printmaking.

Created during the final decade of Chagall's life, Celui qui dit des choses sans rien dire is widely regarded as one of the finest achievements of his later graphic work, bringing together two of the twentieth century's leading artistic voices in a publication that remains highly sought after by collectors today.

Framed with Conservation Mat, Archival Foamboard and Museum Glass (with Velvet Lined Mat)

Size 102cm x 78.5cm (Framed)