4. Anxious People
- Artist: El Lissitzky
- Date: 1923
- Medium: Lithograph on paper
- Dimensions: image: 512 x 430 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “4. Anxious People” by El Lissitzky. A 1923 lithograph on paper, part of a ten‑piece portfolio called Victory Over the Sun. Lissitzky, a key figure in the Russian avant‑garde, turned a mechanical‑theatre idea into a series of bold, abstract puppets. The print shows a cluster of nervous, almost cowardly figures—hence the title—moving across a stage of rib‑construction and electrified scenery. It was originally created as a gift for society members after a successful 1923 show in Hanover, and only 75 copies were printed. The whole series reflects the futurist opera Victory over the Sun, where music, poetry and visual spectacle collide. Lissitzky’s work captures the restless energy of the machine age and the anxiety of people thrust into a new, mechanised world.
See it in person
4. Anxious People is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
