A lithograph from El Lissitzky's 'Figurines' portfolio, depicting the Gravediggers as geometric, mechanical figures for the opera 'Victory Over the Sun'.

This lithograph is a plate from the portfolio 'Figurines', which El Lissitzky produced to document his designs for the 1913 Futurist opera, 'Victory Over the Sun'. The work reflects the artist's interest in the intersection of theatre, mechanics, and geometry. Lissitzky envisioned the characters as electro-mechanical puppets, moving through a space defined by architectural forms rather than traditional stage sets.

The composition features two figures, the Gravediggers, rendered through a series of rigid, geometric shapes. Lissitzky employs a restricted palette of black, white, grey, and yellow to emphasise the structural nature of the design. The figures are constructed from rectangles, lines, and circles, creating a sense of volume through flat planes of colour and shading. The top-hatted figure on the left and the circular, mechanical head of the figure on the right demonstrate the artist's attempt to strip away human emotion in favour of a machine-like aesthetic.

Lissitzky was a central figure in the Russian avant-garde, and his work during this period sought to redefine the relationship between the viewer and the object. By presenting these characters as modular components, he challenged the conventions of theatrical costume design. The print captures the essence of his 'Proun' experiments, where he explored the transition from two-dimensional painting to three-dimensional architecture. The clean lines and precise arrangement of shapes reflect the influence of Suprematism, yet the inclusion of specific character types maintains a link to the narrative of the original opera. This piece is a clear example of the period's fascination with the potential of technology to reshape artistic expression.