The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the Studio

El Lissitzky (Russian, Pochinok 1890–1941 Moscow)

Date:: 1923
Medium:: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:: 10.9 x 8.3 cm (4 5/16 x 3 1/4 in.)
Classification:: Photographs
Credit Line:: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
Accession Number:: 1987.1100.62

This artwork is not on display

Description

El Lissitzky's somersaulting multiple exposure of himself and several friends in his studio was made in 1923, probably when he was living in Hannover at the invitation of Kurt Schwitters. The fantastic intermingling of bodies suggests the free-spirited nature of the Russian artist's explorations and is a particularly apt expression of his vision of a "world floating in space." In accordance with Lissitzky's utopian belief that art would free the modern world from conventional tethers, the photograph can be read from any direction.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Inscription: Inscribed on print, verso UC: "[illegible] des Hand von // El Lissitzky gesch [illegible]"; inscribed in ink on print, verso UC: "Foto von aufgenome // in Berlin. okt. 1923."; stamped in ink on print, verso C: "V. HUSZAR // VOORBURG // HOLLAND"; inscribed on print, verso LC [on slant]: "Original Photo // von El Lissitzky // Lev. Lisstizky";
Provenance

Vilmos Huszar (Huszar collaborated with Lissitzky in 1923 and is believed to have acquired this work directly from the artist); Prakapas Gallery; John C. Waddell, March 5, 1983
Notes

JCW notes that signature of Lissitzky's son, Lev, authenticates photo and his father's handwriting
See also
Who
El Lissitzky (4)
What
Photographs (32,621)

Gelatin silver prints (8,694)
Where
Asia (68,271)

Russia (1,702)
When
A.D. 1900-present (79,807)
In the Museum
Photographs (29,450)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Central and North Asia, 1900 A.D.–present

Anatolia and the Caucasus, 1900 A.D.–present

Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, 1900 A.D.–present
MetPublications
Search for related Met publications