El Lissitzky

About the Artist

El Lissitzky. Self-Portrait (The Constructor). 1924. Gelatin silver print, 5 1/2 x 3 1/2" (13.9 x 8.9 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Shirley C. Burden, by exchange (MoMA 1764.2001). © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Alternate Name(s) Lasar Markovich Lissitzky (Birth Name)
Эль Лисицкий (Alternate Name)

Meeting Points

Cultural Hubs Berlin
Moscow
Photo Industry Hubs Berlin
London
Schools VKhUTEMAS, 1920–30
Exhibitions Film und Foto, 1929
Foto der Gegenwart, 1929
Fotomontage, 1931
Publications Sovetskoe foto, 1926–39
Foto-Auge, 1929
Es kommt der neue Fotograf!, 1929

Artist Chronology

November 23, 1890	Born At location: El Lissitzky	Pochinok
1892–1908	Lives in Smolensk and spends summer vacations in Vitebsk At location: El Lissitzky	Vitebsk Smolensk
1900–2006	Satrap Subsidiary of Schering AG Associated: El Lissitzky	Berlin Berlin
1903–08	Studies drawing and painting, designs his first book, and begins teaching art At location: El Lissitzky	Vitebsk
1909–14	Studies architecture at the Technische Hochschule At location: El Lissitzky	Darmstadt
1911	Travels to Paris and Brussels Travels with Ossip Zadkine, a sculptor and fellow student from Vitebsk. Visits architect Henry van de Velde in Brussels on the return trip. At location: El Lissitzky	Brussels Paris
1912	Works exhibited for the first time at the St. Petersburg Artists' Union Participant: El Lissitzky	Saint Petersburg
1914–17	Lives in Moscow Lissitzky returned to Moscow in haste at the outbreak of World War I, leaving behind many of his possessions. At location: El Lissitzky	Moscow
1915–16	Studies at the Riga Technical Institute, temporarily based in Moscow due to the war At location: El Lissitzky	Moscow
1916	Works at an architecture office and assists in creating the layout for the Egyptian department at the Pushkin Museum At location: El Lissitzky	Moscow
1917–19	Lives in Kiev and produces a series of illustrated Yiddish books At location: El Lissitzky	Kiev
1918	Designs the first flag of VTsIK (All-Russian Central Executive Committee), which is carried across Red Square on May 1 At location: El Lissitzky	Kiev
1919	Helps found the Kultur Lige publishing house At location: El Lissitzky	Kiev
November 1919–21	At Marc Chagall's invitation, teaches graphic arts, printing, and architecture at the Artistic-Technical Institute in Vitebsk At location: El Lissitzky	Vitebsk
1920	László Moholy-Nagy moves to Berlin and meets Kurt Schwitters, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah Höch, El Lissitzky, Walter Dexel, Adolf Behne, and Lucia Schulz At location: Raoul Hausmann, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Lucia Moholy	Berlin
1920–36	Kate Steinitz entertains the artistic avant-garde at her Hannover home; guests include Raoul Hausmann and El Lissitzky Affiliated: Raoul Hausmann, El Lissitzky At location: Kate Steinitz	Hannover
Fall 1921–1922	Sent by the state to Germany to establish cultural contact for artists At location: El Lissitzky	Berlin
1922	El Lissitzky meets Kurt Schwitters, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah Höch, Hans Richter, and George Grosz; meets Russians at Café Nollendorfplatz At location: Raoul Hausmann, El Lissitzky, Hans Richter	Berlin
1922	Erste Russische Kunstausstellung at Galerie Van Diemen & Co. Organizer: El Lissitzky Participant: Aleksandr Rodchenko, Gustav Klutsis	Berlin
1922	Erste Russische Kunstausstellung Organizer: El Lissitzky	Amsterdam
1922	Cofounds the periodical Veshch-Gegenstand Objekt with Ilya Ehrenburg At location: El Lissitzky	Berlin
February 1922	Hans Richter cofounds the Constructivist Group; members include László Moholy-Nagy and El Lissitzky At location: El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter	Berlin
May 29–31, 1922	Kongress der Union internationaler fortschrittlicher Künstler At location: Raoul Hausmann, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter	Düsseldorf
September 15, 1922	Kongress der Konstruktivisten und Dadaisten At location: Max Burchartz, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter, Lucia Moholy	Weimar
1923	Visits the Bauhaus, Weimar At location: El Lissitzky	Weimar
July 1923	Hans Richter publishes the first issue of G: Material zur elementaren Gestaltung with Graeff and El Lissitzky Contributor: El Lissitzky, Hans Richter	Berlin
1924–mid-1925	Convalesces from tuberculosis. Continues to work on photographs, design, and translations At location: El Lissitzky	Locarno
1924–28	Hannes Meyer and El Lissitzky found and contribute to the architectural magazine ABC Beiträge zum Bauen Contributor: El Lissitzky, Hannes Meyer	Basel
Mid to late 1925 through 1930	Teaches interior design, metalwork, and architecture at VKhUTEMAS At location: El Lissitzky	Moscow
1926–27	László Moholy-Nagy and El Lissitzky encourage Edmund Kesting to become more involved with photography. Kesting begins experimenting with multiple exposures At location: El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Edmund Kesting	Berlin
May–October 1928	Internationale Presse-Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbund, aka "Pressa" Designer: Herbert Bayer, Max Burchartz, El Lissitzky Participant: El Lissitzky, Walter A. Peterhans	Cologne
1929	Franz Roh publishes Foto-Auge: 76 Fotos der Zeit Contributor: Herbert Bayer, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Maurice Tabard, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Edward Weston, Franz Roh, Semyon Fridlyand, Robert Petschow, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Hans Finsler, Paul Edmund Hahn, J. Jay Hirz	Stuttgart
1929	Werner Graeff publishes Es kommt der neue Fotograf! Contributor: Herbert Bayer, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Oskar Nerlinger, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone	Berlin
January 20–February 17, 1929	Fotografie der Gegenwart at Museum Folkwang Kestner Gesellschaft v.V, Königstrasse 8, Hannover March 10–April 7, 1929 Galerie Neumann-Nierendorf, Lützowstrasse 32, Berlin April 20–May 20, 1929 Whitechapel Art Gallery, London June 6–29, 1929 Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt July 7–August 8, 1929 Leipziger Kunstverein, Augustusplatz 6, Leipzig August 18–September 8, 1929 Lichthof des Neuen Rathauses, Dresden September 15–October 6, 1929 Kunstverein, Rostock October 20-November 10, 1929 am Adolf-Mittag-See, Städtisches Ausstellungsamt, Magdeburg November 28–December 19, 1929 Landesgewerbeanstalt, Kaiserslautern February 23–March 23, 1930 Vereinigung Göttinger Kunstfreunde, Göttingen May 18–June 8, 1930 Participant: Berenice Abbott, Herbert Bayer, Aenne Biermann, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, Lotte Jacobi, André Kertész, Germaine Krull, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, August Sander, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Lucia Moholy, Karl Blossfeldt, Erich Comeriner, Eli Lotar, Oskar Nerlinger, Robert Petschow, Frieda Gertrud Riess, Sasha Stone, Hans Finsler, Paul Edmund Hahn, Cami Stone	Essen
May 18–July 7, 1929	Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds Film und Foto (FiFo) at Städtische Ausstellungshallen Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich August 28–September 22, 1929 Im Lichthof des Ehemaligen Kunstgewerbemuseums, Prinz-Albrechs-Strasse 7, Berlin October 19–November 17, 1929 Stadtmuseum, Danzig (dates unknown) Österreichisches Museum, Vienna February 20–March 31, 1930 Agram, Zagreb April 5–14, 1930 Münchner Bund/Verein Ausstellungspark München E.V. (as part of Internationale Ausstellung. Das Lichtbild), Munich June 5–September 7, 1930 Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo April 1931 Asahi Shimbun, Osaka July 1–7, 1931 Participant: Berenice Abbott, Herbert Bayer, Aenne Biermann, Anton Bruehl, Francis Bruguière, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, André Kertész, Germaine Krull, Helmar Lerski, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Charles Sheeler, Edward Steichen, Maurice Tabard, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Edward Weston, Lucia Moholy, Werner Rohde, George Hoyningen-Huene, Gustav Klutsis, Karl Blossfeldt, Heinz Loew, Erich Comeriner, Semyon Fridlyand, Roman Karmen, Eli Lotar, Oskar Nerlinger, Robert Petschow, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Yva (Else Simon), Willy Zielke, Irene Bayer-Hecht, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone Organizer: El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Dziga Vertov Visitor: Alexander Hackenschmied	Stuttgart
1930	International Fur Trade Exhibition Designer: El Lissitzky	Leipzig
1930–41	El Lissitzky, Seymon Fridlyand, Aleksandr Rodchenko, and Roman Karmen contribute to the periodical USSR in Construction Contributor: El Lissitzky, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Semyon Fridlyand, Roman Karmen	Moscow
May 17–October 12, 1930	International Hygiene Exhibition Organizer: El Lissitzky Participant: Hans Finsler	Dresden
April 25–May 31, 1931	Fotomontage at Staatliche Kunstbibliothek Participant: Herbert Bayer, César Domela-Nieuwenhuis, Raoul Hausmann, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Gustav Klutsis, Oskar Nerlinger Organizer: César Domela-Nieuwenhuis	Berlin
January 16–February 14, 1937	Die Konstruktivisten at Kunsthalle Basel Participant: César Domela-Nieuwenhuis, El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy	Basel
May 25–November 25, 1937	Exposition internationale des arts et techniques dans la vie moderne at the Trocadéro Participant: Francis Bruguière, Germaine Krull, El Lissitzky, Maurice Tabard, Hajo Rose, Leni Riefenstahl, Willy Zielke, Hans Finsler, Max Penson Organizer: El Lissitzky Visitor: Gustav Klutsis	Paris
1941	Designs covers for the film scripts Lenin in October, Deputy of the Baltic, and others At location: El Lissitzky	Moscow
December 30, 1941	Dies from tuberculosis At location: El Lissitzky	Moscow