Jan Lenica. Wizyta Starszej Pani (The Visit) (Poster for play by the Swiss dramatist, Friedrich Dürrenmatt). 1958

Jan Lenica Wizyta Starszej Pani (The Visit) (Poster for play by the Swiss dramatist, Friedrich Dürrenmatt) 1958

  • Not on view

This poster and the play it advertises transform ordinary people into absurdly grotesque and enigmatic figures. To capture the play's tragicomic feel, Lenica drew inspiration from the witty and macabre collages by the German Surrealist artist Max Ernst. Set in the town of Güllen ("liquid shit" in Swiss dialect), Dürrenmatt's famous play deals with the helplessness and corruptibility of the individual in society as an entire community eventually succumbs to murdering one of its members out of sheer greed. While this production ran in Warsaw the same play opened on Broadway, mesmerizing audiences on either side of the Iron Curtain.

Gallery label from Polish Posters 1945–89, May 6–November 30, 2009.
Medium
Offset lithograph
Dimensions
34 x 24" (86.4 x 61 cm)
Credit
Gift of the Triton Gallery
Object number
1276.1968
Copyright
© 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Department
Architecture and Design

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