As directed by God, Jeremiah reluctantly prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, and upon doing so, was lowered into a cistern, where he sunk down into the mud (Jeremiah 38:1-6). This is the portrayal Chagall so powerfully represents as Jeremiah, head down and hands bound, contemplates his fate. With a light shining on him and an angel past his shoulder, he cannot see that he has not been forsaken and that even in his doubt God is still with him. A masterful storyteller, Chagall excels in this composition in bringing together the emotion and technical mastery for which he so renowned.
Created in 1958, this color etching is from a series of 105 images that Chagall created for his Bible series. Annotated V/V in pencil in the lower left margin, this work is an artist’s proof, aside from the numbered edition of 100. This work bears Marc Chagall’s (Vitebsk, 1887 – Saint-Paul, 1985) hand written monogram in pencil in the lower right margin. Tériade, Paris, published this folio, and Raymond Haasen, Paris, did the printing for the series.
