Had Gadya (Illustrations after El Lissitzky) by Frank Stella
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In 1919, Russian avant-garde artist El Lissitzky created a series of gouaches illustrating the traditional Jewish Passover song, Had Gadya (Only Kid). After seeing these artworks in the Tel Aviv Museum in 1981, Stella was fascinated by their movement and vibrancy of the simplified, graphic forms.
Based on these artworks, the Frank Stella Had Gadya print series were created and took two years to complete. The prints were created using a combination of various printmaking techniques – lithography, linoleum block, silkscreen, and rubber relief with collage elements and hand-colouring. The prints were finally published by Waddington Graphics, London, in 1984. After completing the edition, Stella created between two and nine variants of each of the twelve Had Gadya illustrations.
Variants of Frank Stella Had Gadya prints:
Had Gadya: Front cover
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 1. One small goat papa bought for two zuzim
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 2. A hungry cat ate up the goat
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 3. Then came a dog and bit the cat
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 4. Then came a stick and beat the dog
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 5. Then came a fire and burnt the stick
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 6. Then water came and quenched the fire
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 7. Then came an ox and drank the water
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 8. The butcher came and slew the ox
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 9. Then came death and took the butcher
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: 10. And the Holy One, blessed be He, came and smote
Had Gadya – El Lissitzky
Had Gadya: B. Had Gadya: Back cover
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