"All the people pluckt from themselves…" (The Story of Exodus, M.460), 1966

"All the people pluckt from themselves… (M.460)" is a lithograph created by Marc Chagall in 1966 for his series "The Story of Exodus." From the edition of 285, the artwork ships framed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Marc Chagall’s "The Story of Exodus" (1966) stands among the most moving biblical print projects of his mature career. Published by Léon Amiel in 1966, the series contains twenty-four large color lithographs in which Chagall brought the Exodus story to life through radiant color, layered texture, and a deeply poetic sense of vision.

What makes these works so compelling is the way Chagall transforms a familiar biblical narrative into something immediate and emotional. He does not approach Exodus as a distant historical subject or as simple illustration. Instead, he fills it with drama, tenderness, wonder, and spiritual energy. Moses, angels, flames, the parted sea, and the journey of a people become vivid and alive in compositions that feel both dreamlike and deeply human.

Color is central to that achievement. Chagall’s reds, blues, greens, and yellows do far more than describe form; they create atmosphere, emotion, and meaning. Light seems to glow from within the image. Figures often appear suspended between earth and spirit, history and memory. This ability to unite narrative with feeling is one of the defining qualities of Chagall’s art, and it is on full display in The Story of Exodus.

The prints also belong to one of the most important themes of Chagall’s life’s work: the Bible. For him, biblical subjects were never merely religious in a narrow sense. They were vessels for human experience—for suffering, hope, exile, faith, and redemption. The story of Exodus, with its themes of bondage and deliverance, held particular power. In Chagall’s hands, it becomes not only a sacred story, but a universal one.

That spiritual depth connects closely with Chagall’s own words on mysticism: “One must rescue that word from its outworn, mouldering exterior, and rediscover its pure, elevated untouched shape… Without mysticism would there exist in the world a single great picture…?” For Chagall, mysticism was not dogma, but the vital force beneath great art—the emotional and imaginative truth that gives an image its lasting life. That idea is felt throughout these lithographs, where miracle and memory, suffering and hope, are held in luminous balance.

Individually, the works are especially appealing because each sheet has a strong visual identity of its own. Each offers a complete world: rich color, a powerful subject, and the unmistakable touch of one of the twentieth century’s great masters. They carry the beauty and lyricism collectors seek in Chagall, while also offering deeper substance—works that reward both immediate visual delight and long contemplation.

In these lithographs, Chagall made Exodus feel timeless. The result is art of striking beauty, spiritual force, and enduring emotional resonance.