Why is Malevich's black square famous? Revealed the mystery of Malevich's painting "Black Square

There are works of art that everyone knows. For the sake of these paintings, tourists stand in long lines in any weather, and then, getting inside, they simply take a selfie in front of them. However, if you ask a tourist who has strayed from the group why he is so eager to look at the masterpiece, he is unlikely to explain why he suffered, pushed and suffered with the focal length. Often the fact is that due to the constant informational noise around a particular work, its very essence is forgotten. Our task in the rubric "Great and incomprehensible" is to remember why everyone should go to the Hermitage, the Louvre and the Uffizi.

The first painting in our section was Kazimir Malevich's Black Square. It is perhaps the most famous and controversial work of Russian art, and at the same time the most recognizable in the West. So, in London there is now a large-scale exhibition dedicated to the artist's work. The main exhibit was, of course, the Black Square. It can even be argued that European critics associate Russian art not with Karl Bryullov and Ilya Repin, but with Malevich. At the same time, unfortunately, few visitors to the Tretyakov Gallery or the Hermitage can clearly say why this painting is so famous. Today we will try to fix it.

Kazimir Malevich (1879 - 1935) "Self-portrait". 1933

1. It's not"Black square", a"Black square on a white background"

And this is important. This fact is worth remembering, like the Pythagorean theorem: it is unlikely to be useful in life, but it is somehow indecent not to know it.

K.Malevich "Black square on a white background." 1915 Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery

2. It's not a square

At first, the artist called his painting "Quadrangular", which is confirmed by linear geometry: there are no right angles, the sides are not parallel to each other, and the lines themselves are uneven. Thus, he created a movable form. Although, of course, he knew how to use the ruler.

3. Why did Malevich draw a square?

In his memoirs, the artist writes that he did it unconsciously. However, the development of artistic thought can be traced in his paintings.

Malevich worked as a draftsman. It is not surprising that at first he was fascinated by cubism with its regular forms. For example, the picture of 1914 is “Composition with Mona Lisa”. Black and white rectangles already appear here.

Left - Kazimir Malevich "Composition with Mona Lisa". On the right - Leonardo da Vinci "Mona Lisa", she is "Gioconda"

Then, when creating scenery for the opera "Victory over the Sun", the idea of ​​a square as an independent element appeared. However, the painting "Black Square" appeared only two years later.

4. Why a square?

Malevich believed that the square is the basis of all forms. If you follow the logic of the artist, the circle and the cross are already secondary elements: the rotation of the square forms a circle, and the movement of white and black planes - a cross.

The paintings "Black Circle" and "Black Cross" were painted simultaneously with the "Black Square". All together they formed the basis of a new artistic system, but the dominance was always behind the square.

"Black Square" - "Black Circle" - "Black Cross"

5. Why is the square black?

For Malevich, black is a mixture of all existing colors, while white is the absence of any color. Although, this is completely contrary to the laws of optics. Everyone remembers how they told at school that black absorbs the rest, and white connects the entire spectrum. And then we did experiments with lenses, looking at the resulting rainbow. But with Malevich, the opposite is true.

6. What is Suprematism and how to understand it?

Malevich founded a new direction in art in the mid-1910s. He called it Suprematism, which means "the highest" in Latin. That is, in his opinion, this trend should have become the pinnacle of all creative searches for artists.

Suprematism is easy to recognize: various geometric shapes are combined into one dynamic, usually asymmetrical composition.

K.Malevich "Suprematism". 1916
An example of one of the artist's many Suprematist compositions.

What does it mean? Such forms are usually perceived by the viewer as children's multi-colored cubes scattered across the floor. Agree, you can not draw the same trees and houses for two thousand years. Art must find new forms of expression. And they are not always clear to ordinary people. For example, the canvases of the Little Dutchmen were once revolutionary and deeply conceptual. Life philosophy was displayed through objects on still lifes. However, now they are perceived rather as beautiful pictures, the modern viewer simply does not think about the deep meaning of the works.

Jan Davidsz de Heem "Breakfast with fruit and lobster". Second quarter of the 17th century.
Each element in Dutch still lifes has a certain symbolic meaning. For example, lemon is a symbol of moderation.

This coherent system collapses upon acquaintance with the paintings of the avant-garde artists. The system "beautiful - not beautiful", "realistic - not realistic" does not work here. The viewer has to think what these strange lines and circles on the canvas can mean. Although, in fact, there is no less sense in lemons in Dutch still lifes, just museum visitors are not forced to solve it. In the paintings of the 20th century, one must immediately understand the idea of ​​a work of art, which is much more difficult.

7. Was it only Malevich who was so smart?

Malevich was not the first artist to create such paintings. Many masters of France, England and Russia were close to comprehending non-objective art. So, Mondrian created geometric compositions in 1913-1914, and the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint painted the so-called color diagrams.

Hilma af Klint. From the SUW series (Stars and the Universe). 1914 - 1915 years.

However, it was from Malevich that geometry acquired a clear philosophical connotation. His idea clearly followed from the previous artistic trend - cubism, where objects are divided into geometric shapes, and each of them is painted separately. In Suprematism, they stopped depicting the original form, the artists switched to pure geometry.

Pablo Picasso "Three Women" 1908
example of cubism. Here the artist still does not abandon the prototype form - the human body. The figures look like the work of a sculptor-carpenter, who seems to have created his work with an axe. Each "slice" of the sculpture is painted over with a shade of red and does not go beyond the boundaries.

8. How can a square be movable?

Despite the outward static character, this picture is considered one of the most dynamic in the history of the Russian avant-garde.

As conceived by the artist, the black square symbolizes pure form, while the white background symbolizes infinite space. Malevich used the adjective "dynamic" to show that this form is in space. It's like a planet in the universe.

So the background and form are inseparable from each other: Malevich wrote that "the most important thing in Suprematism is two foundations - the energy of black and white, which serve to reveal the form of action." (Malevich K. Collected works in 5 volumes. M., 1995. Volume 1. P. 187)

9. Why does Black Square have two creation dates?

The canvas was created in 1915, although the author himself wrote 1913 on the reverse side. This was done, apparently, in order to get around their competitors and assert the primacy in the creation of the Suprematist composition. In fact, in 1913 the artist was engaged in the design of the opera "Victory over the Sun", and in his sketches, indeed, there was a black square as a symbol of this victory.

But in painting, the idea was embodied only in 1915. The painting was presented at the avant-garde exhibition "0, 10", and the artist placed it in the red corner, the place where icons usually hang in an Orthodox house. With this step, Malevich proclaimed the significance of the canvas and turned out to be right: the painting became a turning point in the development of the avant-garde.

Photo taken at the exhibition "0, 10". "Black Square" hangs in the red corner

10. Why is there a "Black Square" in both the Hermitage and the Tretyakov Gallery?

Malevich several times addressed the theme of the square, since for him it is the most important Suprematist form, after which, in order of importance, come the circle and the cross.

There are four "Black Squares" in the world, but they are not complete copies of each other. They differ in size, proportions and time of creation.

"Black square". 1923 Stored in the Russian Museum

The second "Black Square" was created in 1923 for the Venice Biennale. Then, in 1929, especially for his solo exhibition, the artist creates a third painting. It is believed that the director of the museum asked for it, because the original of 1915 had already been covered with a network of cracks, craquelure. The artist did not like the idea, he refused, but then changed his mind. So the world has become one square more.

"Black square". 1929 Stored in the Tretyakov Gallery

The last repetition was supposedly created in 1931. No one knew about the existence of the fourth option, until in 1993 a certain citizen came to the Samara branch of Inkombank and left this picture on bail. The mysterious lover of painting was never seen again: he never returned for the canvas. The painting became owned by the bank. But not for long: he went bankrupt in 1998. The painting was bought and transferred to the Hermitage for safekeeping.

"Black square". Early 1930s. Stored in the Hermitage

So, the first painting of 1915 and the third version of 1929 are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, the second version is in the Russian Museum, and the last one is in the Hermitage.

11. How did contemporaries react to the "Black Square"?

If there is no longer any hope for understanding Malevich's work, do not be sad. Even the followers of the Russian avant-garde artist did not fully understand the deep intention of the artist. The diaries of one of the master's contemporaries, Vera Pestel, have survived to our time. She writes:

“Malevich simply painted a square and painted it all over with pink paint, and with another black paint, and then many more squares and triangles of different colors. His room was smart, all motley, and it was good for the eye to move from one color to another - all of different geometric shapes. How calm it was to look at different squares, nothing was thought, nothing was wanted. The pink color was pleasing, and next to it, black was also pleasing. And we liked it. We also became Suprematists.” (Malevich about himself. Contemporaries about Malevich. Letters. Documents. Memoirs. Criticism. In 2 volumes. M., 2004. Volume 1. P. 144-145)

It's like saying about the still lifes of the small Dutch - why think about it.

However, there are more insightful remarks. Despite the fact that not everyone understood the philosophical subtext of the canvas, its significance was nevertheless appreciated. Andrei Bely said this about Suprematism:

“The history of painting and all these Vrubels in front of such squares is zero!” (Malevich about himself. Contemporaries about Malevich. Letters. Documents. Memoirs. Criticism. In 2 volumes. M., 2004. Volume 1. P. 108).

Alexander Benois, the founder of the World of Art movement, was extremely outraged by Malevich's antics, but he still understood the significance that the painting had acquired:

“The black square in a white frame is the “icon” that the futurists offer instead of Madonnas and shameless Venuses. This is not a simple joke, not a simple challenge, but this is one of the acts of self-affirmation of that beginning, which has its name in the abomination of desolation ... ". (Benoit A. The last futuristic exhibition. From "Malevich about himself ...". V.2. P.524)

In general, the picture made a double impression on the artist's contemporaries.

12. Why can't I draw Black Square and become famous?

You can draw, but you won't be able to become famous. The meaning of contemporary art is not only to create something completely new, but also to present it correctly.

For example, black squares were painted even before Malevich. In 1882, Paul Bielhold created a painting with the politically incorrect title "The Night Fight of the Negroes in the Basement." Even earlier, in the 17th century, the English artist Flood painted The Great Darkness. But it was the Russian avant-garde artist who marked the new philosophy with a picture and exploited it for several decades. Can you do that? Then go ahead.

Robert Flood "The Great Darkness" 1617.

Paul Bielhold "Negro Night Fight in the Basement". 1882

The latest tomographic scanning techniques have helped experts discover a hidden image under a layer of paint that explains the mystical magnetism of the Black Square. According to Sotheby's registers, the value of this painting is estimated today. in 20 million dollars.

In 1972, the English critic Henry Veits wrote:
“It would seem that it could be simpler: a black square on a white background. Anyone can probably draw this. But here's a riddle: a black square on a white background - a painting by the Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, created at the beginning of the century, still attracts both researchers and art lovers as something sacred, as a kind of myth, as a symbol of the Russian avant-garde. What explains this mystery?
And continues:
“They say that Malevich, having painted Black Square, told everyone for a long time that he could neither eat nor sleep. And he does not understand what he did. Indeed, this picture is the result, apparently, of some complex work. When we look at the black square, under the cracks we see the lower colorful layers - pink, lilac, ocher - apparently, there was some kind of color composition, recognized at some point as failed and recorded with a black square.

Tomographic scanning in infrared radiation showed the following results:

Kazemir Severinovich Malevich was born in Kyiv February 23 18 79 years old. He grew up as a capable child, and in a school essay he wrote: “My dad works as a manager at a sugar factory. But his life is not sweet. All day he listens to the workers swearing when they get drunk on sugar mash. Therefore, returning home, dad often swears at mom. So when I grow up, I will be an artist. This is good work. No need to swear with the workers, no need to carry heavy things, and the air smells of paints, not sugar dust, which is very harmful to health. A good picture costs a lot of money, and you can paint it in just one day.”.
After reading this essay, Kozi's mother, Ludwiga Aleksandrovna (nee Galinovskaya) presented him with a set of paints for his 15th birthday. And at the age of 17, Malevich entered the Kyiv drawing school of N.I. Murashko.

In August 1905, he came to Moscow from Kursk and applied for admission to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. However, the school did not accept him. Malevich did not want to return to Kursk, he settled in an artistic commune in Lefortovo. Here, in the big house of the artist Kurdyumov, about thirty "communards" lived. I had to pay seven rubles a month for a room, which was very cheap by Moscow standards. But Malevich often had to borrow this money too. In the summer of 1906, he again applied to the Moscow School, but he was not accepted for the second time.
From 1906 to 1910, Kazimir attended classes at the studio of F.I. Rerberg in Moscow. For this period of his life, the letters of the artist A.A. Exter to the musician M.V. Matyushin. One of them describes the following.
To improve his finances, Kazimir Malevich began work on a series of paintings about a women's bath. The paintings were not sold expensively and required additional expenses for the models, but it was at least some money.
One day, after working with the models all night, Malevich fell asleep on the couch in his studio. In the morning his wife came in to take money from him to pay the grocer's bills. Seeing the next canvas of the great master, she boiled with indignation and jealousy, grabbed a large brush and painted over the canvas with black paint.
Waking up, Malevich tried to save the painting, but to no avail - the black paint had already dried up.
Art critics believe that it was at this moment that Malevich had the idea of ​​the "Black Square".

The fact is that many artists long before Malevich tried to create something similar. These paintings were not widely known, but Malevich, who studied the history of painting, undoubtedly knew about them. Here are just a few examples.

Robert Fludd, "Great Darkness" 1617

Bertal, View of La Hogue (night effect), Jean-Louis Petit, 1843

Paul Bilhod, Night Fight of the Negroes in the Basement, 1882

Alphonse Allais, Philosophers Catching a Black Cat in a Dark Room, 1893

Alphonse Allais, a French journalist, writer and eccentric humorist, author of the popular aphorism "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow" succeeded most in such creativity.
From 1882 to 1893, he painted a whole series of similar paintings, not at all hiding his humorous attitude towards these "creative studies of extra-material realities."
For example, the stark white canvas in a frame was titled "Anaemic Girls Walking to First Communion in a Snowstorm." The red canvas was called "Apoplectic cardinals picking tomatoes on the shores of the Red Sea", etc.

Malevich undoubtedly understood that the secret of the success of such paintings lies not in the image itself, but in its theoretical justification. Therefore, he did not exhibit Black Suprematist Square until he wrote his famous manifesto, From Cubism to Suprematism, in 1915. New pictorial realism".

However, this was not enough. The exhibition was rather sluggish, since by that time there were quite a lot of various “Suprematists”, “Cubists”, “Futurists”, “Dadaists”, “Conceptualists” and “Minimalists” in Moscow, and the public was already rather tired of them.
Real success came to Malevich only after Lunacharsky appointed him "People's Commissar of IZO Narkompros". Within this position Malevich took his "black square" and other works to the exhibition "Abstract and Surrealistic Painting and Plastic" in Zurich. Then there were his personal exhibitions in Warsaw, Berlin and Munich, where his new book "The World as Non-Objectivity" was also published. The fame of Malevich's Black Square spread throughout Europe.

The fact that Malevich used his position not so much for the international propaganda of Soviet art as for the promotion of his own work did not hide from his Moscow colleagues. And upon returning from abroad in the autumn of 1930 Malevich was arrested by the NKVD on a denunciation as a "German spy".
However, thanks to the intercession of Lunacharsky, he spent only 4 months in prison, although he parted ways with the post of "People's Commissar of Fine Arts" forever.

So the firstThe "Black Suprematist Square", which was discussed here, is dated 1915, now it is in the Tretyakov Gallery.
The second Black Square was painted by Malevich in 1923 especially for the Russian Museum.
The third - in 1929. He is also in the Tretyakov Gallery.
And the fourth - in 1930, especially for the Hermitage.

These museums also store other works by Malevich.

Kazemir Malevich, " Red Suprematist Square, 1915

Kazemir Malevich, "Black Suprematist Circle", 1923

Kazemir Malevich, "Suprematist Cross", 1923

Kazemir Malevich, "Black and White", 1915

Kazemir Malevich, self-portrait, 1933,
State Russian Museum

On December 19, 1915, at the "Last Futuristic Exhibition of Paintings 0.10", which opened in Petrograd, 39 paintings by Kazimir Malevich were presented to the public. In the most prominent place, in the so-called "red corner", where icons are usually placed, hung the painting "Black Square". Kazimir Malevich, who spoke at the exhibition, announced the advent of a new pictorial realism - Suprematism. The term "Suprematism" (from the Latin supremus - the highest, overcoming) Malevich called the highest and last stage of art, the essence of which is to go beyond the traditional framework, beyond the visible, intelligible world.

You don't have to be a great artist to draw a black square and place it on a white background. The square is the most elementary geometric figure, black and white are the most elementary colors. Probably anyone can draw this. But here's a riddle: The Black Square is the most famous painting in the world. It excites the minds of millions of people, causes heated debate, attracts a lot of researchers and art lovers. Why is this happening? So far, the answer to this question has not been found.

Many researchers have tried to unravel the mystery of the Black Square. What conclusions did they come to? There are many of them. Here are five main ones.

"Black Square" is:

1. A gloomy and absolutely incomprehensible revelation of a brilliant artist.
2. An example of wretchedness, complete hopelessness, despair from his mediocrity.
3. Artificially inflated fetish, behind which there is no secret.
4. The act of self-affirmation of the satanic principle
5. Jewish symbol.

Unfortunately, none of the researchers went beyond a superficial understanding of the picture. They saw only what lay on the surface of the picture, that is, only a black square.

Kazimir Malevich himself repeatedly stated that the picture was made by him under the influence of the unconscious, or rather, under the influence of "cosmic consciousness". Consequently, the picture must be perceived not by the consciousness, but by the subconscious. "Black Square" is not just a picture, "Black Square" is a symbol of cosmic consciousness.

All researchers did not take into account the simplest truth, namely, the law of descriptive geometry, which says this: only a plane can really be displayed on a plane. The picture is a plane, which means that only a flat figure can really be depicted on it: a square. People with underdeveloped imagination and see in the "Black Square" only a square, and nothing more. But after all, Malevich made it clear to everyone that this is not just a black square, but a Suprematist black square. That is, when considering this picture, one should go beyond the traditional perception, go beyond the visible.


Go beyond the visible, and you will understand that in front of you is not a black square, but a multi-colored cube. This is the secret of the famous painting. The secret meaning embedded in the "Black Square" can be briefly formulated as follows: the world around us, only at the first, superficial, look looks flat and black and white. If a person perceives the world in volume and in all its colors, his life will change dramatically. Millions of people who were instinctively attracted to this picture subconsciously felt the volume and multicoloredness of the Black Square, but they lacked the imagination to take the last step towards comprehending the ingenious canvas.


Let's take this final step together. Look at the picture. There is a black square in front of your eyes. Flat one-color figure. But maybe this is the front side of a multi-colored cube? After all, we know that if you look at a three-dimensional object strictly frontally, you may get a false impression of its plane. Shift your point of view. Go beyond the visible. Try with cosmic vision to see the top side of the cube. If you succeed, you will see that the top side is blue. It symbolizes the sky and height. Now let's look at the underside of the cube. This side is green. Green is the color of spring, nature and youth. If you were able to see the top and bottom sides of the cube, it will be easier to see the sides. The two sides of the cube are yellow and red. The right side is yellow, the color of the sun and summer. The left side is red, the color of fire, warmth and love. The hardest part is seeing the back of the cube. To do this, it is not enough to look a little higher, a little lower, or a little from the side. To do this, we must mentally move to the opposite side. We must change our point of view 180 degrees. If this succeeds, then behind the front black side we will see the back white side. White is the color of wisdom, truth and purity. Black is the color of death, evil and emptiness.

The black color absorbs all other colors, so it is quite difficult to see a multi-colored cube in a black square. And to see white behind black, truth behind lies, life behind death is many times more difficult. But to those who succeed in doing this, a great philosophical formula will be revealed.

"Black Square" is not a picture in the well-known sense of the word. "Black Square" is an encrypted message of the great not artist, but philosopher Kazimir Malevich. Having understood the true essence of this message, this formula of harmony, you will be able to take a different look at the world around you. Look at everything from different points of view, and you will discover all the charm of the MULTI-COLORED world.

I really love this question!

I'll start as always from afar))

The answer to the question about the "Black Square" is somewhat deeper than it might seem.

First you need to plunge into the history of art, namely at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. So, the Impressionists, they were the first to declare and began to depict the world around, not as the academicians did, but as they saw it: with a play of light and shadow, with a non-classical composition, with a completely different approach to depicting the world.

It was the Impressionists who served as the starting point for modern art. Then came the post-impressionists, who continued to experiment, first of all with color (for example, the Fauvists in the person of Henri Matisse) and then with the form of objects (for example, the Cubists, in the person of Pablo Picasso).

All these experiments simplified the depicted objects as much as possible (but by no means in a bad sense of the word). It was all a kind of normal evolution of painting and art in general, it was quite logical that after many thousands of centuries, starting from ancient art, disassembling the depicted object into its constituent parts, shape, color and line, art would come to the basis of the foundations of everything - to black square.

Returning to the history of art, the cubists - they dismantled the world into simple forms, their art is based on a set of simple foundations (sphere, cone, cylinder). These figures underlie any still life and nature in general. Cubism is a study of form and its emotional content. In the works of Henri Matisse we see the beauty of color, form and ornament. In his works, he paid a big role to lines and rhythm.

In parallel with cubism and fauvism are the futurists. For the latter, the theme of the speed of time was characteristic. Look at the works of Umberto Boccioni, his works are reminiscent of "the view from the window of a speeding train." In 1905, the first exhibition of the Futurists took place, at which the Manifesto was announced, they said that they were clearing the way for a new perception of time. They destroyed everything that was (in art), so that new, future artists would come.

A little later (1915), but almost in parallel, constructivists begin to appear and develop. Rodchenko was a prominent representative of the constructivists - he was fond of pure form (this was especially at its peak, since the revolution ended in Russia, everything was permeated with a new, pure form, new life).

BUT all of the above listed artists are looking for themselves on the "base" of the old arts. And now we come to the most interesting, at the same time, a group of artists begins to form, which has found a completely new path - These are Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich. The first in his innovative idea was Wassily Kandinsky, with his theory of abstract art, color and movement without plot and illustrations, harmony and dynamics due to color spots and lines. The emotion of the artist is directly transmitted to the viewer. Take a look at his work and you will immediately understand everything.

By 1915, Kazimir Malevich creates a theory of new art. A little earlier, Wassily Kandinsky creates his theory of absolute art. His main idea is color and movement without a plot and illustrations, a balance of harmony and dynamics, his works are color spots and lines. Thus, the artist's emotion is directly transmitted to the viewer, without any retelling or distortion.

The idea of ​​K. Malevich was somewhat similar to Kandinsky, but still different. K. Malevich and Suprematism - this is a very clear idea, art goes through stages of maturation, and enters the pure form of Suprematism. Malevich called this path "From Fauvism and Cubism to Suprematism." The idea of ​​Suprematism is a return to the beginning of art, to the origins of color and form, a complete departure from imagery (this is similar to Kandinsky). According to the theory of Suprematism, there are 3 forms: a square, a circle and a cross, a triangle only within the composition. Pure colors: black, white, red, blue and yellow. The famous "Black Square" is the idea of ​​concentration of Suprematism.

Kazimir Malevich with the idea of ​​Suprematism - in his theory, art goes through stages of maturation, reaching the pure form of Suprematism. Return to the beginning of art - the source of color and form. Harmony, proportions, rhythm combined with simple colors, absolutely complete avoidance of illustration.

The black square is the concentration of the idea of ​​Suprimatism. Black color - macro / micro space, a reference point. The art of Malevich, perfectly "embedded" in the new Soviet life. This is a completely different art, it is very philosophical, a theory is written to understand and explain it. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to consider the Black Square, without any context, and consider this image primitive. To understand it, you need to study all the past eras and then everything will become logical and understandable.

Kazimir Malelevich was an innovator, and for the beginning of the 20th century. His theses and art were something incredible. Art cannot be viewed from the standpoint of "and I can draw like that ..." Malevich was the first with his Manifesto, and that is why he is an innovator. He has other works where you can see that he is really an artist. A certain turning point began to occur at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries, it was not art with aesthetics that became the main thing, but the concept, and even those who could not really draw began to call themselves artists .... But time has passed, and artists are again in demand, able to create an amazingly beautiful canvas, and at the same time, these same artists can create something simple, write a concept and it will be brilliant.

Kazimir Malevich presented his famous "Black Square" in 1915 at an exhibition called "0 10". The black square is a manifesto, it is a new art. Malevich reduced all the art of past eras to zero and went on a completely different path. Suprematism is translated as the highest / overcoming - these adjectives can also characterize the work of Malevich. It is worth noting that Malevich deliberately hung his square at the exhibition in the red corner; in Russian houses, an icon has always hung in this place.

You don't have to be a great artist to draw a black square on a white background. Yes, anyone can do it! But here's the mystery: The Black Square is the most famous painting in the world. Almost 100 years have passed since its writing, and disputes and heated discussions do not stop. Why is this happening? What is the true meaning and value of Malevich's "Black Square"?

"Black square" is a dark rectangle

For the first time, Malevich's Black Square was presented to the public at a scandalous futuristic exhibition in Petrograd in 1915. Among other outlandish paintings by the artist, with mysterious phrases and numbers, with incomprehensible shapes and a heap of figures, a black square in a white frame stood out for its simplicity. Initially, the work was called "a black rectangle on a white background." Later, the name was changed to "square", despite the fact that, from the point of view of geometry, all sides of this figure are of different lengths and the square itself is slightly curved. With all these inaccuracies, none of its sides are parallel to the edges of the picture. And the dark color is the result of mixing various colors, among which there was no black. It is believed that this was not the negligence of the author, but a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form.

"Black Square" is a failed picture

For the futuristic exhibition "0.10", which opened in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1915, Malevich had to paint several paintings. Time was running out, and the artist either did not have time to complete the painting for the exhibition, or was not satisfied with the result and, in a rush, covered it over by drawing a black square. At that moment, one of his friends entered the studio and, seeing the picture, shouted “Brilliant!”. After that, Malevich decided to take the opportunity and came up with some higher meaning for his “Black Square”.

Hence the effect of cracked paint on the surface. No mysticism, just the picture did not work out.

Repeated attempts were made to examine the canvas in order to find the original version under the top layer. However, scientists, critics and art historians considered that irreparable damage could be caused to the masterpiece and in every possible way prevented further examinations.

"Black Square" is a multi-colored cube

Kazimir Malevich repeatedly stated that the picture was created by him under the influence of the unconscious, a kind of "cosmic consciousness". Some argue that only the square in the "Black Square" is seen by people with an underdeveloped imagination. If, when considering this picture, go beyond the traditional perception, go beyond the visible, then you will understand that in front of you is not a black square, but a multi-colored cube.

The secret meaning embedded in the "Black Square" can then be formulated as follows: the world around us, only at the first, superficial, look looks flat and black and white. If a person perceives the world in volume and in all its colors, his life will change dramatically. Millions of people who, according to them, were instinctively attracted to this picture, subconsciously felt the volume and multicoloredness of the Black Square.

Black color absorbs all other colors, so it is quite difficult to see a multi-colored cube in a black square. And to see white behind black, truth behind lies, life behind death is many times more difficult. But to those who succeed in doing this, a great philosophical formula will be revealed.

"Black Square" is a rebellion in art

At the time the painting appeared in Russia, there was a dominance of artists of the Cubist school.

Cubism (fr. Cubisme) is a modernist trend in the visual arts, characterized by the use of emphatically geometrized conditional forms, the desire to “split” real objects into stereometric primitives. The founders and largest representatives of which were Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The term "cubism" arose from a critical remark about the work of J. Braque that he reduces "cities, houses and figures to geometric schemes and cubes."

Pablo Picasso, Girls of Avignon

Juan Gris "The Man in the Cafe"

Cubism reached its apogee, already fed up with all the artists, and new artistic trends began to appear. One of these trends was Malevich's Suprematism and the "Black Suprematist Square" as its vivid embodiment. The term "Suprematism" comes from the Latin suprem, which means dominance, the superiority of color over all other properties of painting. Suprematist paintings are non-objective painting, an act of "pure creativity".

At the same time, the "Black Circle" and "Black Cross" were created and exhibited at the same exhibition, representing the three main elements of the Suprematist system. Later, two more Suprematist squares were created - red and white.

"Black Square", "Black Circle" and "Black Cross"

Suprematism has become one of the central phenomena of the Russian avant-garde. Many talented artists have experienced his influence. Rumor has it that Picasso lost interest in cubism after he saw "Malevich's square".

"Black Square" is an example of brilliant PR

Kazimir Malevich has figured out the essence of the future of contemporary art: no matter what, the main thing is how to submit and sell.

Artists have been experimenting with black all over since the 17th century.

The first tightly black work of art called "Great Darkness" wrote Robert Fludd in 1617

He was followed in 1843 by

Bertal and his work View of La Hougue (under the cover of night)». More than two hundred years later. And then almost without interruption -

"Twilight History of Russia" by Gustave Dore in 1854, "The Negro Night Fight in the Basement" by Paul Bielhold in 1882, a completely plagiarized "Negro Fight in a Cave in the Dead of Night" by Alphonse Allais. And only in 1915, Kazimir Malevich presented his "Black Suprematist Square" to the public. And it is his picture that is known to everyone, while others are known only to art historians. Extravagant trick glorified Malevich for centuries.

Subsequently, Malevich painted at least four versions of his Black Square, differing in pattern, texture and color, in the hope of repeating and multiplying the painting's success.

"Black Square" is a political move

Kazimir Malevich was a subtle strategist and skillfully adjusted to the changing situation in the country. Numerous black squares, painted by other artists during the time of Tsarist Russia, have remained unnoticed. In 1915, Malevich's square acquired a completely new meaning, relevant to its time: the artist offered revolutionary art for the benefit of a new people and a new era.
"Square" has almost nothing to do with art in its usual sense. The very fact of his writing is a declaration of the end of traditional art. A Bolshevik from culture, Malevich went to meet the new authorities, and the authorities believed him. Before the arrival of Stalin, Malevich held honorary positions and successfully rose to the rank of People's Commissar of the IZO Narkompros.

"Black Square" is a rejection of content

The painting marked a clear transition to the realization of the role of formalism in the visual arts. Formalism is the rejection of literal content in favor of artistic form. The artist, painting a picture, thinks not so much in terms of "context" and "content" as "balance", "perspective", "dynamic tension". What Malevich recognized and his contemporaries did not recognize is de facto for contemporary artists and “just a square” for everyone else.

"Black Square" is a challenge to Orthodoxy

The painting was first presented at the futuristic exhibition "0.10" in December 1915. along with 39 other works by Malevich. The “Black Square” hung in the most prominent place, in the so-called “red corner”, where icons were hung in Russian houses according to Orthodox traditions. There he was "stumbled upon" by art critics. Many perceived the picture as a challenge to Orthodoxy and an anti-Christian gesture. The largest art critic of that time, Alexander Benois, wrote: "Undoubtedly, this is the icon that the gentlemen futurists put in place of the Madonna."

Exhibition "0.10". Petersburg. December 1915

"Black Square" is a crisis of ideas in art

Malevich is called almost the guru of contemporary art and accused of the death of traditional culture. Today, any daredevil can call himself an artist and declare that his "works" have the highest artistic value.

Art has become obsolete and many critics agree that after the "Black Square" nothing outstanding has been created. Most of the artists of the 20th century lost their inspiration, many were in prison, exile or exile.

"Black Square" is a total emptiness, a black hole, death. They say that Malevich, having painted Black Square, told everyone for a long time that he could neither eat nor sleep. And he does not understand what he did. Subsequently, he wrote 5 volumes of philosophical reflections on the theme of art and being.

"Black Square" is a quackery

Charlatans successfully fool the public into believing something that is not really there. Those who do not believe them, they declare stupid, backward and do not understand anything stupid, who are inaccessible to high and beautiful. This is called the "naked king effect". Everyone is ashamed to say that this is garbage, because they will laugh.

And the most primitive drawing - a square - can be attributed to any deep meaning, the scope for human imagination is simply unlimited. Not understanding what the great meaning of the "Black Square" is, many people need to invent it for themselves so that there is something to admire when looking at the picture.

The painting, painted by Malevich in 1915, remains perhaps the most discussed painting in Russian painting. For some, the "Black Square" is a rectangular trapezoid, and for some it is a deep philosophical message that the great artist encrypted.

Alternative opinions worthy of attention (from various sources):

- "The simplest and most essential idea of ​​this work, its compositional-theoretical meaning. Malevich was a well-known theorist and teacher of the theory of composition. The square is the simplest figure for visual perception - a figure with equal sides, therefore, it is from it that novice artists begin to take steps. When they are given the first tasks on the theory of composition, on horizontal and vertical rhythms. gradually complicating tasks and shapes - a rectangle, a circle, polygons. Thus, the square is the basis of everything, and black, because nothing more can be added. "(FROM)

- Some comrades claim that it's a pixel(jokingly, of course). Pixel (eng. pixel - short for pix element, in a certain source. picture cell) - the smallest element of a two-dimensional digital image in raster graphics. That is, any drawings and any inscriptions that we see on the screen when enlarged consist of pixels, and Malevich was somewhat of a seer.

- Personal "insight" of the artist.

The beginning of the 20th century marked an era of great upheavals, a turning point in people's worldview and their attitude to reality. The world was in a state when the old ideals of beautiful classical art faded completely and there was no return to them, and the birth of a new one was predicted by great upheavals in painting. There was a movement from realism and impressionism, as the transfer of sensations, to abstract painting. those. first humanity depicts objects, then sensations, and finally ideas.

Malevich's black square turned out to be a timely fruit of the artist's insight, who managed to create the foundations of the future language of art with this simplest geometric figure, which is fraught with many other forms. Rotating a square in a circle, Malevich obtained the geometric figures of a cross and a circle. When rotating along the axis of symmetry, I got a cylinder. A seemingly elementary flat square contains not only other geometric shapes, but can create three-dimensional bodies. The black square, dressed in a white frame, is nothing but the fruit of the creator's insight and his thoughts about the future of art ... (C)

- This picture, undoubtedly, is and will be a mysterious, attractive, always alive and pulsating object of human attention. It is valuable because it has a huge number of degrees of freedom, where the theory of Malevich himself is a special case of explaining this picture. It has such qualities, is filled with such energy that it makes it possible to explain and interpret it an infinite number of times at any intellectual level. And most importantly, to provoke people to creativity. A huge number of books, articles, and other things have been written about the Black Square, many paintings inspired by this thing have been created, the more time passes from the day it was written, the more we need this riddle, which has no solution or, conversely, has an infinite number of them .
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ps If you look closely, you can see other tones and colors through the craquelure paint. It is quite possible that under this dark mass there was a picture, but all attempts to enlighten this picture with something did not end in success. The only thing that is certain is that there are some figures or patterns, a long stripe, something very fuzzy. Which may well not be a picture under the picture, but simply the bottom layer of the square itself and the patterns could be formed in the process of drawing :)

And what idea is closest to you?