Biography
Life and Career Highlights
- 1890 Born in Polshinok near Smolensk.
- 1909-1914 Studied architecture at the Technical Academy in Darmstadt, Germany.
- 1914 Returned to Russia at the outbreak of war, reunited with many Russian artists. Completed his architectural training in Moscow.
- 1917-1919 Worked with Chagall and others on book illustration.
- 1919 Appointed teacher by Marc Chagall, who was director of Vitebsk Art School.
- 1919/1920 Kasimir Malevich assumes directorship, renames school 'Unovis' (which is short for College of the New Art) changing ideology to revolutionary art school.
- 1919 Painted his first 'Proun'
- 1920 In Vitebsk designed his 'Story of Two Squares', published in Berlin in 1922, first example of the 'new typography' published in the west.
- 1920 Moved to Moscow to teach at state art school, Vkhutemas.
- 1921-28 Lived in Hanover, Germany
- 1921-28 Helped edit Constructivist and other progressive art magazines
- 1921-1930 Travelled extensively in Western Europe, visiting Germany, France, Holland and Switzerland, where he came in contact with many others working in "modern method".
- 1923 First one-man exhibit at the Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover
- 1924 Published Die Kunstismen with Jean Arp
- 1928 Returned to Moscow, producing innovative designs for exhibitions and architecture.
- 1930-1941 El Lissitzky and (wife) Sophie Lissitzky-Küppers designed the overall layout and cover arrangements for a number of issues of "USSR in Construction", the seminal propaganda journal, as did Alexander Rodchenko and his wife, Varvara Stepanova.
- 1924-5 In Switzerland
- 1925 Returned to Moscow. No further painting, mainly designed periodicals and exhibition displays, including an exhibition room for Landesmuseum, Hanover, and Soviet pavilions for several international exhibitions.
- 1941 Died Moscow