Mihail Chemiakin Lithograph – Ventre de Paris (Stomach of France)

Mihail Chemiakin Lithograph – Ventre de Paris (Stomach of France), E.A. Edition

A powerful and surreal composition from Mihail Chemiakin’s Ventre de Paris series, this rare lithograph presents a haunting transformation of the French marketplace, interpreted through Chemiakin’s metaphysical and theatrical lens. A robed figure, bearing the posture and expression of solemn ritual, appears to confront or wrestle with a suspended carcass—its form abstracted into a semi-biological, semi-industrial object. This tension between man and meat, labor and consumption, speaks to the deeper allegories that Chemiakin explores in his social and cultural critiques.

Printed on fine paper and hand-signed in pencil by the artist lower right, the work is marked E.A. (épreuve d'artiste), indicating it is an artist's proof, outside the numbered edition. The image is deeply textured and rich in tone, with a muted yet earthy palette that emphasizes the graphic drama. The signature stylization and compositional intensity mark this as an exceptional example from one of Chemiakin’s most intellectually layered periods, circa 1980s.

This lithograph was part of a limited series referencing Les Halles of Paris—the historic central market often dubbed “the stomach of France”—and reimagines the scenes of butchers and workers into metaphorical transformations of body and industry.