Artwork
Et le lia pour mille ans (And bound him a thousand years)
Et le lia pour mille ans (And bound him a thousand years) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Ambroise Vollard. It dates from 1899 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1899, this black lithograph on chine collé bears the title Et le lia pour mille ans, translated as “And bound him a thousand years.” The work is attributed to the French dealer and occasional artist Ambroise Vollard, whose limited output as a printmaker includes this enigmatic image that centers on a coiled serpent entwined with a chain.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a sinuous snake whose head lifts upward, its body tightly wrapped by a heavy chain. The creature dominates a shadowy landscape, suggesting confinement or punishment. The title’s reference to a thousand‑year binding reinforces an atmosphere of prolonged restraint, inviting interpretations linked to mythic or moral themes of captivity and endurance.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithographic print, the image relies on stark black tones applied to a chine collé support, a paper‑on‑paper technique that adds subtle texture. Vollard’s handling of line emphasizes the serpent’s curvature and the chain’s links, while the muted background recedes into darkness, heightening the dramatic contrast between figure and void.
History & Provenance
The lithograph emerged at the close of the nineteenth century, a period when Vollard was primarily known as an influential art dealer. Though his printmaking was occasional, this piece reflects his personal artistic interests. Documentation of its ownership remains limited, but it is catalogued among his printed works from 1899.
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Artist & collection
Cover for the Album "Paysages et intérieurs"
Apres cela je vis descendre du ciel un ange qui avait la clef de l'abime, et une grande chaine en sa main (And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand)
Le Gagnant (The Winner)
Interior with Pink Wallpaper I (Interieur aux tentures roses I)
Et un autre ange sortit du temple qui est au ciel, ayant lui aussi une faucille tranchante (And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also having a sharp sickle)
Une femme revêtue du Soleil (A woman clothed with the sun)
Game of Checkers (La partie de dames)
Across Country (A travers champs)
And Bound Him a Thousand Years
Untitled (The Dream of the Mogul?)
And His Name That Sat on Him Was Death
And I Saw an Angel Coming Down from Heaven, Having the Key of the Bottomless Pit and a Great Chain in His Hand
Le château de la mort (The House of the Dead)
Et celui qui était monté dessus se nommait la Mort (And his name that sat on him was Death)
Le Sphynx...mon regard que rien ne peut devier, demeure tendu a travers les choses sur un horizon inaccessible. La Chimere: Moi,Je suis legere et joyeuse (The Sphinx: "My gaze, which nothing can deflect, passes through the things and remains fixed on an inaccessible horizon." The Chimera: "I am weightless and joyful")
It Is the Devil, Bearing Beneath His Two Wings the Seven Deadly Sins
Herakles erlegt den Adler des Prometheus
Project for Frontispiece to: Au pied du Sinaï
Passage d'une Ame (Passage of a Spirit)