‘Beat the Whites With the Red Wedge’: the essence of world revolution
El Lissitzky’s iconic Civil War poster ‘Beat the Whites With the Red Wedge’ is perhaps the single most recognisable piece of artwork to emerge from the entire Russian Revolution. Its influence is widespread even today. In this article, Nelson Wan and James Kilby explore how The Red Wedge came into being, how it captures the essence of revolution, and how a work of propaganda such as this can be considered great art.