Posten (Sentry)

El Lissitzky, artist

1890–1941

Posten (Sentry), 1923

Portfolio/Series title: Sieg Über Die Sonne (Victory Over the Sun)

Where object was made: Soviet Union (present-day Russia)

Material/technique: lithograph; wove paper

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 381 x 197 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 532 x 452 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 15 x 7 3/4 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 15/16 x 17 13/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 x 20 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 25 1/4 x 20 1/4 x 1 in
Weight (Weight): 6 lbs

Credit line: Museum purchase: Helen Foresman Spencer Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 1989.0098

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Machine in a Void: World War I & the Graphic Arts," Mar-2010, Steve Goddard
El Lissitzky was one of the major participants of the Russian Constructivist movement, advancing the idea of art as a major creative force for the construction of a new social order. He became known for his particular style of painting which he called Proun, a fusion of painting conventions and architectural forms.

In 1923 Lissitzky created a portfolio of 10 lithographs for Victory Over the Sun, a futuristic opera with a libretto by Aleksei Kruchenykh and stage designs by Kazemir Malevich. The opera tells the story of a New Man who challenged the existing old-world rationality by subverting the Sun's power. Revolutionary aspirations of establishing the new world order channeled through the opera were echoed by Lissitzky's aesthetic concerns, which he summarized in the introductory essay to his portfolio: “Here, as in all my work, my goal is not to reform that which has previously existed, but to bring into being another reality...”