L’Ane charge d’eponges et l’Ane charge de sel

Original Etching, 1952, On Velin Reeves wove paper, signed in the plate (not by hand)
Reference: Marc Chagall “Les Livres Illustres” by Patrick Cramer : Number 22
Marc Chagall : 100 Acquaforti per le favioli di la Fontaine - Published by Toninelli Arte Moderna, Milano - reference 19
Size: 15 1/2” X 12” (Plate size)
Historical Note: This was part of an album entitled “Fables de La Fontaine” which consisted of a 100 etchings. The works illustrated are based on the work by Jean De La Fontaine who was a French poet who lived in the 17th century. There were 243 fables in total based on the works by Aesop and are stories which illustrate themes of morality and good sense. These were created between 1927 and 1930 but not published until 1952. When they were made they were pioneered by Chagall’s friend Ambroise Vollard with whom he published Gogols “Dead Souls”. The Great art dealer, however, died before they were published and it was left to Teriade who eventually worked with the artist to publish these in 1952
Note on the Fable: a merchant who owned a donkey heard that salt was cheaper by the seashore, so he decided to go into the salt business. He went and loaded his donkey with salt and then headed back home. At a certain moment, the donkey accidentally lost his footing and fell straight into a stream. This caused the salt to dissolve, making his load lighter. The donkey was thus able to rise easily to his feet and enjoy a less taxing journey home. The merchant sold what was left of the salt and led the donkey back again to load him with an even greater cargo than before. As the donkey made his way with difficulty back to the stream where he had fallen before, he sank to his knees on purpose this time. Then, after his cargo had dissolved in the water, he leaped nimbly to his feet, delighted to have turned the situation to his advantage, or so he thought. The merchant realized what was happening and decided that the next time he would bring back home a big load of porous sponges. On their way back across the stream, the wicked donkey fell down on purpose as before. This time the sponges grew heavy with water and the cargo expanded. As a result, the donkey had to carry a burden that was twice as heavy as it had been to begin with. The Moral:'It often happens that the same things which brought us luck can also get us into trouble. 'Edition: The editioning of this series is complex:
40 Copies numbered from 1 to 40 with the 100 etchings handpainted by the artist on Rives wove and two suites of the 100 etchings, one on Japon Nacre, the other on Montval.
45 Copies numbered from 41 to 85 with the 100 etchings handpainted by the artist on Rives wove and a suite of the etchings on Montval
15 Hors commerce copies reserved for the collaborators and numbered from I to xv, with the 100 etchings on Rives wove.
Condition: Some paper loss on margins recto and tape marks verso not affecting the image.
Published by: Teriade, Paris, 1952
Printed by: Maurice Potin, Paris, France