El Lissitzky (1890–1941), one of the most eminent figures of Soviet avant-garde art, had been in contact with the Swiss art scene and its like-minded protagonists since 1919. In 1924–25, he spent several months at a sanatorium in the Swiss canton of Ticino to treat his pulmonary tuberculosis. Despite the illness, he created key works in his oeuvre during this time, spanning fields of architecture, graphic design and typography, and fine art. Together with Jean Arp, he wrote the book Die Kunstismen (“The Ar