El Lissitzky, The Fire Came and Burnt the Stick, Lithograph on paper, 1919
Artist/Maker:
El Lissitzky
Bio:
Russian, 1890-1941
Title:
The Fire Came and Burnt the Stick
Portfolio/Series:
Had Gadya Suite (Tale of a Goat)
Date:
1919
Medium:
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 16 × 14 in. (40.6 × 35.6 cm) Image: 10 3/4 × 10 in. (27.3 × 25.4 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Leonard E. and Phyllis S. Greenberg
Accession Number:
1986-121g

Not On View

"Had Gadya," sung at the conclusion of the Passover seder, describes the purchase of a young goat, which is then eaten by a cat, which in turn is bitten by a dog. After a series of assailants, God destroys the final attacker, ending the vicious cycle. The song is an allegory for the persecution of the Jews, while demonstrating God's ultimate triumph over evil and death. The artist transforms "Had Gadya" into a metaphor for the triumph of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Information may change as a result of ongoing research.

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