INVENTORY OF THE EL LISSITZKY LETTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS,
1911-1941
Finding aid written by Carl Wuellner
The Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California 90049-1688
Phone: (310) 440-7390
Fax: (310) 440-7780
Email Requests: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/reference_form.html
URL: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library
©1998
J. Paul Getty Trust.
INVENTORY OF THE EL LISSITZKY LETTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS,
1911-1941
Accession no. 950076
Finding aid prepared by Carl Wuellner
Getty Research Institute
Contact Information:
- The Getty Research Institute
- Research Library
- Special Collections and Visual Resources
- 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
- Los Angeles, California 90049-1688
- Phone: (310) 440-7390
- Fax: (310) 440-7780
- Email Requests: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/reference_form.html
- URL: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/
- Processed by:
- Carl Wuellner
- Date Completed:
-
March, 1996
- Encoded by:
- Philip Curtis
©1998 J. Paul Getty Trust.
Descriptive Summary
Title: El Lissitzky letters and photographs
Dates: 1911-1941
Collection number: 950076
Creator:
Lissitzky, El, 1890-1941
Extent:
1 lin. ft.
(3
boxes)
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688
Abstract: The El Lissitzky letters and photographs collection consists of 106 letters sent, most
by Lissitzky to his wife, Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers, along with his
personal notes on art and aesthetics, a few official and personal documents, and
approximately 165 documentary photographs and printed
reproductions of his art and architectural designs, and in particular, his exhibition designs.
Language: Collection material in German
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
El Lissitzky letters and photographs,
1911-1941, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no.
950076.
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1995.
Processing History
Carl Wuellner processed the collection and wrote the finding aid in December, 1995-March, 1996.
Related Material
El Lissitzky photographs, 1910-1934. Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 2000.R.11.
Biographical/Historial Note
El Lissitzky (1890-1941) began his artistic education in 1909, when he traveled to Germany to study architecture at the Technische
Hochschule in Darmstadt. Lissitzky returned to Russia in 1914, continuing his studies in Moscow where he attended the Riga
Polytechnical Institute. After the Revolution, Lissitzky became very active in Jewish cultural activities, creating a series
of inventive illustrations for books with Jewish themes.
These formed some of his earliest experiments in typography, a key area of
artistic activity that would occupy him for the remainder of his life.
He was invited by Marc Chagall in 1919 to teach architecture and
graphics at the Vitebsk Art School. There Lissitzky was influenced by
faculty-member Kazimir Malevich's method of Suprematism, a form of
non-representational painting in which colored planes hover in space over a
neutral ground. Inspired by Malevich's invention, Lissitzky introduced a new
form of abstract composition that he called "Proun" (an acronym for "Project
for the Affirmation of the New".) The Prouns consisted of sharply delineated
arrangements of colored geometric forms, intended to suggest architectural
structures floating in space. Lissitzky conceived of the Prouns as existing
half-way between painting and architecture, an idea which epitomized the
aesthetic of Russian Constructivism. Widely reproduced in books and journals,
Lissitzky's Prouns influenced the work of many leading European modernists.
Lissitzky became a member of Moscow's INKhUK (Institute of Artistic
Culture) and joined the faculty of VKhUTEMAS (The Higher State Artistic and
Technical Workshops) in 1921. Later that year he returned to Germany. There he
became an important representative of the Russian avant-garde to the West
through friendships he made with artists such as Làszlò
Moholy-Nagy, who transmitted Lissitzky's ideas on art to western Europe and the
United States through his teaching at the Bauhaus, and Kurt Schwitters, with
whom Lissitzky collaborated on a number of projects. Lissitzky's role as a
cultural ambassador of Russian modernism was enhanced by his activities in
publishing and writing on art. During the early 1920's he worked with writer
Ilia Erenburg on a tri-lingual journal on modern art subjects, titled
Vesch/Objet/Gegenstand. Other literary collaborations
included an article and the design layout for a volume of the journal Merz,
known as the
Nasci-Heft, which he co-published with Kurt Schwitters in
1924, and a collaboration with Hans Arp on
Kunstismen, a book chronicling the "isms" of art. He also
translated Kazimir Malevich's writings on art in hopes of making the ideas
underlying Russian Suprematism available to a wider European audience.
Lissitzky was closely associated later in his life with the editorial board of
the propaganda magazine begun by Maxim Gorky,
USSR im Bau, contributing layout designs and photomontages
for a number of commemorative issues devoted to the Stalinist Constitution,
Soviet Georgia, and the Red Army. During these years in Germany he also gained
recognition as a notable figure in experimental photography, developing
techniques of graphic representation which would characterize of much of his
later work in publishing and exhibition design. Furthermore, it was during his
stay in Hannover in 1922-1923 that he met Sophie.
Lissitzky was diagnosed with tuberculosis late in 1923, for which he
sought treatment at a sanatorium in Switzerland. He paid for his treatment and
accommodations there by executing advertising commissions for the firm
Günther Wagner, the makers of Pelikan-brand ink and other office products,
for which he received a monthly retainer of 300 Marks. He adapted Prouns in
some cases into his designs for the Pelikan advertisements.
Lissitzky left Switzerland in the spring of 1925, and moved back to
Russia where he subsequently taught as a member of the Wood and Metalwork
faculty of the Moscow VKhUTEMAS. He had become associated by then with the
group ASNOVA (Consortium of New Architects), which advocated a synthesis of
architecture, painting, and sculpture as opposed to a plain utilitarian
approach to architecture. The plans for Lissitzky's
Wolkenbügel project--a building conceived of as a
horizontal skyscraper supported on three piers--were published in 1926 in the
ASNOVA Bulletin, of which Lissitzky was co-publisher and
designer. He continued working as well on an array of typographical projects,
theater, furniture, and exhibition designs, and participated in various
architectural competitions in Russia and Western Europe.
During the years immediately following his departure from Switzerland
in 1925, Lissitzky began focusing his attention in earnest on his activities as
a designer of exhibition spaces, one of his most influential areas of interest
and, by his own account, the most important artistic activity of his career.
His designs for international exhibitions in Dresden (1926, 1930), Hannover
(1930), Cologne (1926), Leipzig (1930), Stuttgart (1929) and elsewhere remain
some of his most significant and influential accomplishments.
His level of activity in later years was somewhat slowed by his
continuing struggles with tuberculosis, for which he sought further treatment
at Abastuman in the Caucasus Mountains for several months in 1935. Despite
declining health during the last years of his life, however, he remained active
in his work until his death on December 21, 1941 at his home in Schodnia, near
Moscow.
Scope and Content of Collection
The archive of El Lissitzky's letters and photographs contains original manuscripts and documentary photographs from the personal
papers of El Lissitzky, the
Russian avant-garde artist who was a leader of Russian Constructivism. The bulk of the archive consists of all the surviving
letters (1923-1935) written by Lissitzky, most in German, to his wife, the art historian Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers.
The archive also contains rare photographs from the late
1920's and early 1930's depicting Lissitzky's innovative designs for international exhibitions. Photographs include reproductions
of some of his designs for art and architectural projects. Two address books, an original inventory of his work, professional
contracts, a personal workbook and official papers, provide further documentation of Lissitzky's personal and professonal
life.
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Subjects: Personal names
Arp, Jean, 1887-1966
Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969
Lissitzky, El, 1890-1941
Lissitzky-Küppers, Sophie, 1891-
Malevich, Kazimir Severinovich, 1878-1935
Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946
Oud, J. J. P. (Jacobus Johannes Pieter, 1890-1963
Roth, Emil
Tschichold, Jan, 1902-1974
Subjects: Corporate names
Bauhaus
VKhUTEMAS (Art school)
Topics
Advertising layout and typography
Architecture--Soviet Union
Book design--Soviet Union
Constructivism (Architecture)
Exhibitions--Soviet Union
Graphic arts--20th century--Soviet Union
Letterheads
Suprematism in art
Genres and Forms of Material
Address books
Diaries
Drawings
Ephemera
Letterheads
Photographic prints
Photographs, Original
Publications
L'esprit nouveau
Bibliography
Cambridge, MA, Busch-Reisinger Museum.
El Lissitzky 1890-1941 [exh. cat.] 1987.
Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska.
El Lissitzky [exh. cat.] 1976.
Eindhoven, Municipal Van Abbemuseum.
El Lissitzky [exh. cat.] 1965.
Eindhoven, Municipal Van Abbemuseum.
El Lissitzky 1890-1941: Architect, Painter, Photographer,
Typographer
[exh. cat.] 1990.
Halle, Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg.
El Lissitzky 1890-1941, Retrospektive [exh. cat]
1988.
Lissitzky-Küppers, Sophie.
El Lissitzky 1890-1941: Maler, Architekt, Typograf,
Fotograf
(Dresden: Veb Verlag der Kunst, 1967).
Lissitzky-Küppers, Sophie, and Jen Lissitzky.
El Lissitzky: Proun und Wolkenbügel, Schriften, Briefe,
Dokumente
(Dresden: Veb Verlag der Kunst, 1977).
Westheim, Paul, ed.
Künstlerbekenntnisse: Briefe, Tagebuchblätter,
Betrachtungen heutiger Künstler
(Berlin: Propyläen,
1925).
Series I.
Letters, most to Sophie
Lissitzky-Küppers,
1911,
1923-1941,
undated
Physical Description:
138 items
Scope and Content Note
In his letters, most of which were written in German, Lissitzky
discusses in some detail his professional and personal associations with other
artists and architects. Many of the letters concern Lissitzky's contributions
to Russian and European art journals, including the volume
Merz/Nasci, the journal for the group
ABC, the journal
L'Esprit Nouveau, and the
ASNOVA Bulletin. He discusses each stage of his
translation of Malevich's writings and evaluates the significance of Malevich's
work and artistic theory. He also writes on some of his own designs, including
the beginning of the
Wolkenbügel project and his design work for the
Pelikan office-supply firm. A number of letters contain sketches of Prouns and
Pelikan projects and other designs, as well as humorous drawings Lissitzky made
for his children.
The letters also show the evolution of Lissitzky's typographic
letterhead, which appears in preliminary handwritten versions and in final
printed form. Together with Lissitzky's discussions of his graphic work, the
letterhead underscores the importance of his avant-garde typography and
design. Two early letters, 1911, are in Russian and not addressed to Sophie.
Box 1, Folder 1
Five letters,
1911, 1923
Scope and Content Note
The two earliest letters (not to
Sophie) are written in Russian, the remainder to Sophie are in German, arranged
chronologically. In one letter to Sophie, Lissitzky describes his attempts to
console Moholy-Nagy who was despondent after the cancellation of an exhibition; in the same letter Lissitzky comments
on the striking effect of
the Bauhaus on the architectural character of Weimar.
Box 1, Folder 2
ca. 49 letters to Sophie
Lissitzky-Küppers,
1924-1925
Scope and Content Note
The majority of these were
written by Lissitzky from Switzerland. Arranged chronologically. Lissitzky discusses his
relations with other artists (Moholy-Nagy, Gropius, Malevich, Arp, Oud)
throughout the letters. He writes in a letter dated
28.12.1924 of his excitement
at having met and befriended an engineer (Emil Roth) who agreed to collaborate
on the Wolkenbügel project. Many letters discuss the progress of ongoing
projects, including his translation of Malevich's writings, contributions to
the issue of
Merz/NASCI, and his advertising work for the
Pelikan office-supply firm, about which he was often unenthusiastic. In a
letter dated
7.4.1924, he defends modern Russian art in response to attacks from
a newspaper critic. In a letter dated
21.3.1924 he remarks on the difficulty of
translating Malevich's writings on Suprematism due to the ethereal, mystical
quality of Suprematist aesthetics. On a postcard he draws the device of two faces linked by one shared eye, presaging
his
well-known poster for the 1929
Russische Ausstellung at the Kunstgewerbemuseum,
Zürich. The letters as a group record the development of his
typographic letterhead device in hand-drawn designs.
Box 1, Folder 3
ca. 34 letters to Sophie
Lissitzky-Küppers,
1925
Scope and Content Note
Letters document Lissitzky's
deteriorating relationship with Arp through the late 1920's. Arranged chronologically. He describes his
own works, and especially his Prouns, as having a purity not found in
Impressionism or Expressionism. A picture postcard of the shipyard at Stettin,
Germany, is indicative of the interest in industrial landscape found in his
later photographic work. In a letter dated
26.6.1925,
Lissitzky writes of his close friendship with Malevich despite their
differences of opinion regarding architecture, and notes that Malevich wanted
Sophie to be the sole agent of his works chosen for sale or exhibition. He
writes of his activities for various publications, including
Kunstismen (with Arp),
ABC, and the
ASNOVA Bulletin.
Box 1, Folder 4
ca. 22 letters,
1925-1935
Scope and Content Note
Letters begin
14.7.1925. Several letters (including letters dated
1.7.1925,
24.9.1925,
18.10.1925,
30.1.1926)
tell of his activities as a faculty member at VKhUTEMAS, including one letter
(
24.9.1925) in which he states that he takes inspiration for his work there from
the example of Trotsky. He mentions his satisfaction in working with
typographer Jan Tschichold in an undated letter probably from November, 1925.
His typographic letterhead appears in drawn and printed form on several
letters.
Box 1, Folder 5
ca. 18 letters to Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers,
1935-1941
Scope and Content Note
Letters begin
16.6.1935. One
in Russian, arranged
chronologically
Box 1, Folder 6
Ten letters, sketches,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Two of the items are humorous drawings,
including one done while he was at the 1928 Pressa Exhibition in Cologne. One
item is a sheet of instructions, with sketches, for a Pelikan design project.
There is also a postcard from the Graphisches Kabinett Israel Ber Neumann,
Berlin, with greetings to Sophie written by Lissitzky and additional greetings
written in two other hands.
Series II.
Personal notes and documents,
1911-1912,
1924,
undated
Physical Description:
14 items
Scope and Content Note
The archive contains an assortment of personal notes and official
documents in German, French, and Russian. These include
approximately a dozen private, informal, handwritten sheets on which Lissitzky
wrote down thoughts on art and aesthetics, variously written in
German and Russian. Two personal address books indicate the international
extent of his connections and associations in the art world. A numbered list of
98 of Lissitzky's artworks includes descriptions and prices. The
small number of official documents includes Swiss residency visas, two
contracts typed in Russian, and a personal workbook or diary, handwritten in Russian.
Box 1, Folder 7
Notes and documents,
1911-1912,
1924,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Three
handwritten notes in German include Lissitzky's speculations on art and
aesthetics, one of which is tinged with political views. Three handwritten
notes and two typewritten contracts for lectures and publications are in
Russian. Two Swiss residency permits are included, dated 1912 (in German) and
1924 (in French). There is included a typed transcription of a letter published
in Paul Westheim,
Künstlerbekenntnisse (Berlin, 1925) to an
unnamed museum director, in which Lissitzky expresses disagreement over the
appropriate installation of one of his works. There are two of Lissitzky's
personal address books, and a checklist of ninety-eight works of art by
Lissitzky, which includes titles, dimensions, brief notes on each work, and
prices.
Series III.
Photographs,
ca. 1920-1931
Physical Description:
ca. 165 items
Scope and Content Note
The archive contains an important collection of ca.
115 photographs demonstrating Lissitzky's contributions to
exhibition design. They document some of his most prominent international
exhibitions, including the Dresden Internationale Kunstausstellung and the Room
for Constructivist Art in Hannover, both from 1926, the 1928 Pressa exhibition
in Cologne, and the Internationale Hygiene-Ausstellung in Dresden, 1930. The
photographs of these and other exhibition spaces illustrate Lissitzky's
application of Russian Constructivist principles to exhibition design, and also
reveal his skillful use of political and cultural propaganda to promote the
Russian state and the utopic vision of the Revolution. There are additionally over 50
original photographs and printed reproductions of a variety of his art and architectural projects.
Box 2
Photographic and printed reproductions, ca.
1920-1931
Physical Description:
ca. 65 items
Scope and Content Note
27 photographic and printed reproductions of art and architectural works by Lissitzky. These are mostly of Prouns, but also
include photomontage,
Pelikan advertisements, and the
Lenin Tribune project (ca. 1920). There are twenty-three reproductions of architectural projects. Included are photographs
and printed reproductions of sketches for the Wolkenbügel, the facade of
the Cologne Presse Exhibition pavilion (1928), a Five Year Plan Architecture
model (1930/1931), and designs for Gorky Park (ca.1931).
Ca. 38 photographs of
national and international exhibitions designed by Lissitzky are arranged chronologically by city and exhibition: Raum
für konstruktive Kunst, Internationale Kunstausstellung, Dresden, 1926; Kabinett der Abstrakten, Niedersächsische Landesgalerie,
Hannover, 1927-1928;
Polygraphic Union Exhibition, Moscow, 1927.
Box 3
Photographs of exhibition designs,
ca. 1928-1930
Physical Description:
ca. 100 items
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by city and
exhibition as follows: International Press Exhibition (Pressa), Cologne, 1928,
including unaddressed picture postcards from the exhibition and photographs of
Lissitzky's displays under construction; Internationale Werkbundausstellung
Film und Foto (FIFO), Stuttgart, 1929; Internationale Hygiene-Ausstellung,
Dresden, 1930, including exterior views; Internationale Pelz-Fachausstellung,
Leipzig, 1930, including views of construction and installation of the
exhibition; unidentified exhibition spaces.
