Title Sheet: Part of the Show Machinery - El Lissitzky

A 1923 lithograph by El Lissitzky, representing the mechanical stage designs for the futuristic opera Victory Over the Sun.

This lithograph serves as the title sheet for El Lissitzky's 1923 portfolio, 'Figurines. The Three-Dimensional Design of the Electro-Mechanical Spectacle: Victory Over the Sun'. The work relates to the artist's conceptualisation of a futuristic opera, originally staged in 1913, which he reimagined through the lens of Constructivist theatre. Lissitzky envisioned the characters as mechanical puppets, or 'electromechanical' figures, that would move across a stage through automated systems rather than human performance. The composition displays the geometric rigour characteristic of Lissitzky's output. It features a series of abstract forms, including circles, squares, and linear structures, which suggest the skeletal framework of stage machinery. The inclusion of Cyrillic text, specifically the title 'Victory Over the Sun' (Pobeda nad solntsem), anchors the work in its Russian Futurist origins. The colour palette is restricted to black, white, red, and yellow, a choice that emphasises the clarity of the forms and the industrial aesthetic of the period. The figures appear weightless, suspended in a non-representational space that rejects traditional perspective in favour of a dynamic, architectural arrangement. Lissitzky's approach to this project reflects his interest in the synthesis of art, technology, and performance. By stripping away the organic nature of the human form and replacing it with geometric components, he sought to create a universal language of design. This print captures the essence of his vision for a new type of theatre, one where the boundaries between the performer and the machine are dissolved. The work remains a significant example of the graphic experimentation that defined the early twentieth-century European avant-garde, demonstrating the application of Suprematist principles to the practical demands of stage design and typography.