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Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922

Sep. 14, 2018 – Jan. 6, 2019

Through some 160 works, this exhibition presents the artistic output of Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, and others, exploring a little-known chapter in the history of modernity and the Russian avant-garde.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 had an enormous effect on Marc Chagall. The passage of a law abolishing all discrimination on the basis of religion or nationality gave him, as a Jewish artist, full Russian citizenship for the first time. This inspired a series of monumental masterpieces, such as Double Portrait with Wine Glass (1917), celebrating the happiness of the newly married Chagall and his wife Bella. As the months went by, Chagall felt the need to help young residents of his native city of Vitebsk (in present day Belarus) lacking an artistic education, and to support other Jews from humble backgrounds.

The year 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of Chagall’s appointment as Fine Arts Commissioner for the Vitebsk region, a position that enabled him to carry out his idea of creating a revolutionary art school in his city, open to everyone, free of charge, and with no age restrictions. The People’s Art School, founded by Chagall in 1918, was the perfect embodiment of Bolshevik values. El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich, leading exponents of the Russian avant-garde, were two of the artists invited to teach at the school. Lissitzky took charge of the printing, graphic design, and architecture workshops, while Malevich, leader of the abstract movement and founder of Suprematism, was a charismatic theorist who galvanized the young students. A period of feverish artistic activity followed, turning the school into a revolutionary laboratory. Each of these three major figures sought, in his own distinctive fashion, to develop a “Leftist Art” in tune with the revolutionary emphasis on collectivism, education, and innovation.

Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922 traces the fascinating post-revolutionary years when the history of art was shaped in Vitebsk, far from Russia’s main cities. Through some 120 works and documents loaned by museums in Vitebsk and Minsk and major American and European collections, the exhibition presents the artistic output of Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky, and Kazimir Malevich, as well as works by students and teachers of the Vitebsk school, such as Lazar Khidekel, Nikolai Suetin, Il’ia Chashnik, David Yakerson, Vera Ermolaeva, and Yehuda (Yury) Pen, among others.

#ChagallLissitzkyMalevich

 

In the Press
“a crisp and enlightening exhibition”
— The New York Times

“a deeply satisfying introduction to an overlooked moment in art history”
— WNYC

Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922 is organized by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, in collaboration with the Jewish Museum, New York.

Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922 is organized by the exhibition curator, Angela Lampe, Curator of Modern Art, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, in collaboration with Claudia J. Nahson, Morris & Eva Feld Curator, The Jewish Museum, for the New York presentation. The exhibition is being designed by Leslie Gill Architect. The exhibition graphics are being designed by Topos Graphics.

Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918–1922 is supported through the Samuel Brandt Fund, the David Berg Foundation, the Robert Lehman Foundation, the Centennial Fund, and the Peter Jay Sharp Exhibition Fund. The publication is made possible, in part, by The Malevich Society.

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A stylized drawing of an artist in a maroon smock sketching geometric shapes on a canvas at an easel, with a palette and brushes at their side. The background is filled with abstract blue and white shapes.

Marc Chagall, Self-Portrait with Easel, 1919. Gouache on paper. Private collection. Artwork © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Exhibition highlights

  • A surreal painting of a woman in a white dress standing with a man in a red jacket perched on her shoulders, holding flowers and a glass of wine. They are set against a colorful, abstract sky with a townscape and bridge in the background.

    Marc Chagall, Double Portrait with Wine Glass, [1917–18]. Oil on canvas. Centre Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, gift of the artist, 1949. Artwork © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris; image provided by CNAC/MNAM/Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, New York

  • Abstract geometric composition featuring a tilted blue square, a horizontal gray rectangle, a vertical and angled black bar, and a small ochre rectangle, all arranged on a beige background.

    Lazar Khidekel, Suprematist Composition with Blue Square, 1921. Ink, watercolor, and graphite on paper. Lazar Khidekel Family Archives and Art Collection

  • Surrealist painting of a fragmented figure in a dark coat with a disjointed blue and white face, alongside a floating pink mask-like face and distorted architectural elements on the left.

    Marc Chagall, Anywhere out of the World, 1915–19. Oil on cardboard mounted on canvas. The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Japan, extended loan from the Bureau of Public Utilities, Gunma Prefectural Government. Artwork © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

  • Abstract geometric composition featuring intersecting planes in neutral tones with a black circle and angular rods, creating a sense of depth and spatial tension.

    El Lissitzky, Proun 6, 1919-20. Oil on canvas. Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt, Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle (Saale), Germany. Photograph by Punctum/Bertram Kober

  • Minimalist abstract painting featuring a central white square intersected by black, orange, and beige rectangular bars on a white background.

    Kazimir Malevich, Suprematism of the Spirit, 1919. Oil on panel. Stedelijk Museum Collection, Amsterdam, on loan from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and Stichting Khardzhiev

  • Vibrant, abstract illustration featuring a swirling red rooster above a stylized village, framed by Yiddish text in a semicircle, from a 1920s avant-garde children's book.

    El Lissitzky, The Fire Came and Burnt the Stick, from Had Gadya (Tale of a Little Goat), 1919. Published by Kultur-Lige, Kiev. Suite of eleven illustrated lithographs. Lithograph on paper. The Jewish Museum, New York. Gift of Leonard E. and Phyllis S. Greenberg, 1986-121g

  • Geometric sketch of a dynamic, abstract figure composed of angular blocks and lines, posed in mid-stride on a platform, resembling a Constructivist or Cubist sculpture study.

    David Yakerson, Suprematist Composition (Walking Robot), 1920. Graphite and ink on paper. Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local History. Photograph by Vorontsov

  • Russian Constructivist propaganda poster featuring bold geometric shapes and dynamic red and black forms; a large red triangle pierces a white circle against a dark background, with Cyrillic text reading

    El Lissitzky, Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, 1919–20/1965–80. Offset print. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Image provided by the Library of Congress

  • Abstract Suprematist composition featuring a large tilted black square surrounded by intersecting red, gray, and black rectangles on a cream background, all enclosed within a thin black frame.

    Ilya Chashnik, Suprematist Composition: Design for a Pictorial Relief, c. 1921. Pen and ink, graphite, and watercolor on paper. Vladimir Tsarenkov Collection, London

  • A Cubist-inspired winter village scene by Marc Chagall, featuring snow-covered rooftops, angular buildings, and a large dark silhouette of a man flying over the town carrying a scythe and sack.

    Marc Chagall, Over Vitebsk, 1915–20, after a 1914 painting. Oil on canvas. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange), 1949. Artwork © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris; image provided by The Museum of Modern Art / licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, New York

  • An abstract Suprematist composition featuring a large black circle partially obscured by intersecting red bars, set against a textured white background with smaller red and black geometric shapes below.

    Kazimir Malevich, Mystic Suprematism (Red Cross on Black Circle), 1920–22. Oil on canvas. Stedelijk Museum Collection, Amsterdam, ownership recognized by agreement with the estate of Kazimir Malevich, 2008

  • Video by SandenWolff

    Video by SandenWolff

  • Video by SandenWolff

    Video by SandenWolff

  • Gallery view featuring a large vertical painting of a woman in a white dress carrying a man in a red coat on her shoulders, with vibrant colors and a cityscape background. Nearby, several illustrated works are displayed in a glass case, and a smaller framed piece hangs on the adjacent wall.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

  • Gallery corner featuring a variety of framed modernist artworks, including abstract compositions and figurative scenes, displayed on soft gray walls with warm wood flooring and simple wall labels.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

  • View through multiple gallery doorways showing a portrait of a woman in green, modernist paintings, and two small sculptures in clear display cases under soft lighting.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

  • Gallery wall displaying a geometric arrangement of framed abstract prints, mostly featuring black shapes on neutral backgrounds, alongside a colorful modernist work; two small sculptures are shown in a glass case on white pedestals in the foreground.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

  • Museum gallery featuring framed abstract works with geometric forms in red, orange, and green on a gray wall; display cases in the foreground hold documents and ceramic pieces.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

  • Exhibition gallery displaying Constructivist artworks, including framed geometric compositions and a 3D architectural model featuring a slanted lattice tower with Russian text. Display cases in the foreground contain sketches and prints.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

  • Museum gallery with abstract geometric prints arranged on a gray wall and two small modernist sculptures displayed in plexiglass cases.

    Installation view of the exhibition Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922, September 14, 2018 - January 6, 2019, The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Jason Mandella

Audio

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The Jewish Museum · Chagall, Lissitzky, Malevich: The Russian Avant-Garde in Vitebsk, 1918-1922