This painting by Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was painted in 1915. The work is done in oil on canvas. The work is stored in the State Russian Museum.
"Red Square" - a painting by Kazimir Malevich, written in 1915. Named on the back "Peasantry in two dimensions". It is a red rectangle on a white background, slightly different in shape from a square.
Exhibited at the exhibition in 1915. In the exhibition catalog of 1915, he received a second name - "Picturesque realism of a peasant woman in two dimensions."
In 1920, Malevich wrote about this painting that "in the hostel, he received more significance" "as a signal of the revolution."
Xana Blank compares Malevich's Suprematism with the work of Leo Tolstoy. In particular, Tolstoy's story "Notes of a Madman" describes a room where Fyodor begins to experience mortal anguish: "A clean whitewashed square room. How, I remember, it was painful for me that this room was exactly square. There was only one window, with a red curtain. That is, a red square on a white background is, in fact, a symbol of longing. Malevich himself explained the concept of his first "Black Square", that "a square is a feeling, white space- the emptiness behind this feeling. Xana Blank comes to the conclusion that, as in Tolstoy's story, the red square on a white background graphically depicts the fear of death and emptiness.
On February 23, 1879, a Russian and soviet artist avant-garde artist, founder of Suprematism Kazimir Malevich. He is one of the founders of abstract art. He became known for his interpretation of the subject form as a combination of contrasting colors geometric elements. We decided to recall a few famous paintings artist.
"Black square"
Kazimir Malevich created this painting in 1915. It is his most famous work. "Black Square" was conceived as part of a triptych, which included "Black Circle" and "Black Cross". The painting was created by Malevich for the futuristic exhibition "0.10", which opened in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1915. The painting "Black Square" was in the most prominent place, in the so-called red corner, where icons are usually hung in Russian houses.
Some felt that the artist was misleading them by hiding the original image under a black square. However, a later examination did not confirm the presence of another image on the canvas.
Malevich himself explained the concept of his first "Black Square" as follows: "A square is a feeling, white space is an emptiness behind this feeling."
There are two more basic Suprematist squares - red and white. The red and white squares were part of the artistic and philosophical triad defined by Malevich. Subsequently, Malevich, for various purposes, performed several repetitions of the author's "Black Square". Now four variants of the Black Square are already known, differing in pattern, texture and color.
"Black Circle"
Another famous work by Malevich is The Black Circle. He created this picture also in 1915, it was also exhibited at the exhibition "0.10". It is part of the triptych "Black Square", "Black Circle" and "Black Cross". The Black Circle is kept in private collection. Later, under his guidance, Malevich's students created the second version of the painting. The second version is stored in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
"Red Horse Riding"
Between 1928 and 1932, Malevich created another painting that became famous. It is known as the "Red Horse Riding". Interestingly, this picture for a long time was the only one of the abstract works of the artist, which entered the official history Soviet art. This was facilitated by its name and image of events. October revolution. Malevich put on reverse side date of the 18th year, although in fact it was written later. The picture is divided into three parts: heaven, earth and people (red cavalry). The ratio of the width of the earth and the sky is in the proportion of 0.618 ( golden ratio). Cavalry of three groups of four riders, each rider spreading out - perhaps four ranks of cavalry. The earth is drawn from 12 colors.
"Suprematist composition"
The painting "Suprematist composition" was created by Malevich in 1916. She exhibited in Moscow in 1919-1920. In 1927, Malevich exhibited the painting at exhibitions in Warsaw and later in Berlin. After the urgent departure of Kazimir Malevich to the USSR in June 1927, the painting was handed over to the German architect Hugo Goering for safekeeping. In general, after the exhibition, Malevich left more than a hundred of his paintings in Berlin in 1927. Goering later took these canvases from Nazi Germany where they were to be destroyed as "degenerate art".
Malevich's works are one of the most striking manifestations of modern abstract art. The founder of Suprematism, the Russian and Soviet artist entered the history of world art with the painting "Black Square", but his work was by no means limited to this work. Any cultured person should be familiar with the most famous works of the artist.
Theorist and practitioner of contemporary art
Malevich's works clearly reflect the state of affairs in society at the beginning of the 20th century. The artist himself was born in Kyiv in 1879.
According to his own stories in his autobiography, the artist's public exhibitions began in Kursk in 1898, although no documentary evidence of this was found.
In 1905 he tried to enter the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. However, he was not accepted. At that time, Malevich had a family in Kursk - his wife Kazimir Zgleits and children. There was a split in their personal lives, therefore, without even enrolling, Malevich did not want to return to Kursk. The artist settled in Lefortovo in an artistic commune. IN huge house artist Kurdyumov lived about 300 masters of painting. Malevich lived in the commune for six months, but despite the extremely low rent, six months later the money ran out, he still had to return to Kursk.
Malevich finally moved to Moscow only in 1907. Attended the classes of the artist Fyodor Rerberg. In 1910 he began to take part in exhibitions creative association early avant-garde The paintings that were brought to him began to appear world fame and recognition.
"Suprematist composition"
In 1916, Malevich's work was already quite well known in the capital. At that time appears She is painted in oil on canvas. In 2008, it was sold at Sotheby's for $60 million.
It was put up for auction by the artist's heirs. In 1927, she exhibited at an exhibition in Berlin.
At the opening of the gallery, it was represented by Malevich himself, but he soon had to return, as Soviet authorities did not extend his foreign visa. He had to leave all work. There were about 70 of them. The German architect Hugo Hering was appointed responsible. Malevich expected to return for paintings in the very near future, but he was never released abroad again.
Before his death, Hering transferred all the works of Malevich, which he had kept for many years, to the Amsterdam City Museum (also known as the Steleleik Museum). Hering entered into an agreement, according to which every year for 12 years the museum had to pay him a certain amount. Ultimately, immediately after the death of the architect, his relatives, who executed the inheritance, received the entire amount at once. Thus, the "Suprematist Composition" ended up in the funds of the Amsterdam City Museum.
Malevich's heirs have been trying to return these paintings since the 70s of the XX century. But they were not successful.
Only in 2002, 14 works from the Amsterdam Museum were presented at the exhibition "Kazimir Malevich. Suprematism". She went to the USA. Malevich's heirs, some of whom are American citizens, have filed a lawsuit against the Dutch museum. The management of the gallery agreed to a pre-trial agreement. According to its results, 5 out of 36 paintings by the artist were returned to his descendants. In return, the heirs waived further claims.
This painting is still the most expensive painting by a Russian artist ever sold at auction.
"Black square"
One of his most discussed works. It is part of the artist's cycle of works dedicated to Suprematism. In it, he explored the basic possibilities of composition and light. In addition to the square, this triptych contains the paintings "Black Cross" and "Black Circle".
The picture was painted by Malevich in 1915. The work was made for the final exhibition of the futurists. The works of Malevich at the exhibition "0.10" in 1915 were hung out, as they say, in the "red corner". In the place where the icon traditionally hung in Russian huts, the Black Square was located. The most mysterious and creepy picture in the history of national painting.
Three key Suprematist forms - a square, a cross and a circle, were considered in the theory of art as standards that stimulate further complication of the entire Suprematist system. It is from them that new Suprematist forms are already born in the future.
Many researchers of the artist's work have repeatedly tried to find the original version of the painting, which would be located under the top layer of paint. So, in 2015, an x-ray was performed. As a result, it was possible to isolate two more color images, which were located on the same canvas. Initially, a cubo-futuristic composition was drawn, and above it also a proto-Suprematist one. Only then everything was filled with a black square.
Scientists also managed to decipher the inscription that the artist left on the canvas. These are the words "Negro's battle dark cave", which refer art connoisseurs to the famous monochrome work of Alphonse Allais, which he created in 1882.
It is no coincidence that the name of the exhibition, which showed the work of Malevich. Photos from the vernissage can still be found in old archives and magazines of that time. The presence of the number 10 indicated the number of participants expected by the organizers. But zero said that the "Black Square" would be exhibited, which, according to the author's intention, is going to reduce everything to zero.
three squares
In addition to the "Black Square" in the work of Malevich there were several more of these geometric figures. Yes, and the "Black Square" at first was a simple triangle. He did not have strict right angles. Therefore, from the point of view of exclusively geometry, it was a quadrangle, and not a square. Art historians note that the whole point is not the negligence of the author, but principled position. Malevich sought to create perfect shape, which would be quite dynamic and mobile.
There are also two more works by Malevich - squares. These are "Red Square" and "White Square". The painting "Red Square" was shown at the exhibition of avant-garde artists "0.10". White Square appeared in 1918. At that time, Malevich's works, photos of which are now in any art textbook, were going through the stage of the "white" period of Suprematism.
"Mystical Suprematism"
From 1920 to 1922 Malevich worked on the painting "Mystical Suprematism". It is also known as the "Black Cross on a Red Oval". The canvas is painted in oil on canvas. It was also sold at Sotheby's for nearly $37,000.
By by and large, this canvas repeats the fate of the "Suprematist construction", which has already been told. She also ended up in the collections of the Amsterdam Museum, and only after the appeal of Malevich's heirs to the court, they managed to regain at least part of the paintings.
"Suprematism. 18 design"
The works of Malevich, whose photos with the names can be found in any textbook on the history of art, fascinate and attract close attention.
Another interesting canvas is the painting "Suprematism. 18 construction", painted in 1915. It was sold at Sotheby's in 2015 for nearly $34 million. She also ended up in the hands of the artist's heirs after judicial trial with the Amsterdam City Museum.
Another painting that the Dutch parted ways with was "Suprematism: Painterly Realism of a Football Player. Masses of Color in the Fourth Dimension". She found her owner in 2011. It was purchased by the Art Institute of Chicago for a sum that it did not wish to disclose to the public. But the work of 1913 - "Desk and Room" could be seen at a major exhibition of Malevich in the Tate Gallery in Madrid. Moreover, the picture was exhibited anonymously. What the organizers had in mind is unclear. Indeed, in cases where the true owner of the canvas wishes to remain incognito, they announce that the painting is in a private collection. Here, a fundamentally different wording is used.
"Suprematist composition"
The works of Malevich, the description of which you will find in this article, will give you a fairly complete and clear idea of his work. For example, the painting "Suprematist composition" was created in 1919-1920. In 2000, it was sold at a Phillips auction for $17 million.
This picture, unlike the previous ones, after Malevich's departure from Berlin to Soviet Union remained in Germany. In 1935, she was taken to the United States by the director of the New York Museum contemporary art Alfred Barr. For 20 years, she exhibited in the United States as part of the exhibition "Cubism and the fact that the painting had to be urgently removed - in Germany by that time the Nazis came to power, Malevich's work fell out of favor. His Nazi superiors attributed it to samples. At first, the director of the Hanover Museum hid the canvas in his basement, and then secretly handed over to Barr, who took the priceless work to the United States.
In 1999, the New York Museum returned this painting and several of his graphic works to Malevich's heirs.
Self-portrait of the artist
In 1910, Malevich painted his self-portrait. This is one of three of his self-portraits painted during this period. It is well known that the other two are kept in domestic museums. These works by Malevich in Tretyakov Gallery can see.
The third self-portrait was sold at auction. Initially, it was in the private collection of George Costakis. In 2004, at a Christie's auction in London, a self-portrait found its owner for just £162,000. In total, because over the next 35 years its value has increased by about 35 times. Already in 2015, the painting was sold at Sotheby's for almost $9 million. Indeed, a good investment.
"Peasant's Head"
If we analyze the works of Malevich over the years, then we can establish a certain trend, with the help of which we can trace how his work developed.
A good example for this is the painting "Head of a Peasant", painted in 1911. In 2014, at the Sotheby's auction in London, she went under the hammer for $ 3.5 million.
For the first time the public saw this painting by Malevich in 1912 at the exhibition " donkey tail", which was organized by Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov. After that, she participated in the Berlin exhibition of 1927. Then Malevich himself gave it to Hugo Hering. She inherited it from him to his wife and daughter. Hering's heirs sold the painting only in 1975, after his death.
In the Russian Museum
The works of Malevich in the Russian Museum are presented very widely. Here, perhaps, is the richest collection of his works. The work of this reformer and teacher is treated with reverence, his canvases are given the most honorable places.
In total, the funds of the Russian Museum today contain about 100 paintings, plus at least 40 graphics. Many of them with new dates. More accurate. The uniqueness of the collection presented in the Russian Museum lies in the fact that there are not just a lot of works, they also cover the widest possible range of his work. Presented as early works, almost the first experiments in painting, and later realistic portraits, which do not at all recognize the brush of the artist who painted the "Black Square".
Death of an artist
Kazimir Malevich died in Leningrad in 1935. According to his will, the body was placed in a Suprematist coffin, which is a cross with outstretched arms, and cremated.
1. Black Suprematist Square, 1915
Canvas, oil. 79.5×79.5 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The most famous work of Kazimir Malevich, created in 1915 specifically for the final futuristic exhibition "0.10", which opened in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1915. "Black Square" is included in the series of Suprematist (from Latin supremus - the highest) works of Kazimir Malevich. Being a kind of abstractionism, Suprematism was expressed in combinations of multi-colored planes of the simplest geometric outlines, devoid of pictorial meaning. Suprematist works occupied a separate hall of the exhibition. Among the thirty-nine Suprematist paintings, in the most prominent place, in the so-called "red corner", where icons are usually hung in Russian houses, hung the "Black Square".
"Black Square" is part of the series of Suprematist works by Kazimir Malevich, in which the artist explored the basic possibilities of color and composition; is, by design, part of a triptych, which also contains the "Black Circle" and "Black Cross".
The “black square” has neither a top nor a bottom; approximately equal distances separate the edges of the square from the vertical and horizontal lines frames. Few deviations from pure geometry remind viewers that the picture is still painted with a brush, that the artist did not resort to a compass and a ruler, drew an elementary geoform “by eye”, joined her inner meaning intuition. We used to think that the background of the "Black Square" is white. It is actually the color of baked milk. And in the jerky strokes of the background, different layers of paint alternate - thin and dense. But on the black plane it is impossible to find a single trace of a brush - the square looks uniform.
Attempts by convinced fans of figurative art alone, who believe that the artist is misleading them, to explore the canvas in order to find a different original version under the top layer of painting, have been made repeatedly. However, technological expertise has not confirmed the presence of any other image on this canvas.
Subsequently, Malevich, for various purposes, performed several author's repetitions of the Black Square. Now four variants of the Black Square are already known, differing in pattern, texture and color. All author's repetitions of the painting are stored in Russia, in state collections: two works in the Tretyakov Gallery, one in the Russian Museum and one in the Hermitage.
It is interesting that in 1893 a painting by Alphonse Allais was exhibited with a dull black field of canvas, called “The Battle of the Negroes in deep cave dark night."
2. Black circle, 1923
Canvas, oil. 106×105.5 cm
The Black Circle is one of the most famous paintings by Kazimir Malevich, the founder of a new trend in painting - Suprematism.
The picture belongs to the direction of Russian non-objective painting, called Suprematism by K. S. Malevich, or “new pictorial realism”. The pointlessness of Suprematism for K. S. Malevich was called by him a conclusion from objective world, a new aspect that revealed nature, space, the Universe to the artist. Suprematist forms "fly", are in a state of weightlessness. "Black circle" for the artist was one of them three main modules of the new plastic system, the style-forming potential of the new plastic idea - Suprematism.
The picture was painted in 1915, later the author made its variants for various exhibitions - the author's repetitions. The first "Black Circle" was painted in 1915 and exhibited at the "Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings" 0.10 "". Now kept in a private collection. The second version of the painting was created by Malevich's students (A. Leporskaya, K. Rozhdestvensky, N. Suetin) under his guidance in 1923. This picture is included in the triptych: "Black Square" - "Black Cross" - "Black Circle". Currently stored in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
3. Red Square, 1915
Canvas, oil. 53×53 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
"Red Square" - a painting by Kazimir Malevich, written in 1915. The title on the back is "Woman in Two Dimensions". It is a red rectangle on a white background, slightly different in shape from a square. Exhibited at the exhibition in 1915. In the exhibition catalog of 1915, he received a second name - "Picturesque realism of a peasant woman in two dimensions." Currently located in the Russian Museum.
In 1920, Malevich wrote about this painting that "in the hostel, he received more significance" "as a signal of the revolution."
Xana Blank compares Malevich's Suprematism with the work of Leo Tolstoy. In particular, Tolstoy's short story "Notes of a Madman" describes a room where Fyodor begins to experience mortal anguish: "A clean whitewashed square room. How, I remember, it was painful for me that this room was exactly square. There was only one window, with a red curtain. That is, a red square on a white background is, in fact, a symbol of longing. Malevich himself explained the concept of his first "Black Square", that "a square is a feeling, white space is an emptiness behind this feeling." Xana Blank comes to the conclusion that, as in Tolstoy's story, the red square on a white background graphically depicts the fear of death and emptiness. However this interpretation Ksana Blank completely contradicts the name of the painting: "A Woman in Two Dimensions", which Malevich left on its back.
4. Red cavalry galloping, 1928-1932
Canvas, oil. 91×140 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Painted in 1928-1932, the exact date is unknown; Malevich put an earlier date on many of his later paintings. IN currently kept in the Russian Museum.
The picture is divided into three parts: heaven, earth and people (red cavalry). The ratio of the width of the earth and sky in the proportion of 0.618 (golden section). Cavalry of three groups of four riders, each rider blurs, possibly four ranks of cavalry. The earth is drawn from 12 colors.
The painting for a long time was the only one of the abstract works of the artist, recognized official history Soviet art, which was facilitated by its name and the image of the events of the October Revolution. Malevich put the date 18 on the reverse side, although in fact it was written later.
5. Suprematist composition, 1916
Canvas, oil. 88.5cm×71cm
Private collection
The painting was painted by the artist in 1916. In 1919-20 she exhibited in Moscow. In 1927, Malevich exhibited the painting at exhibitions in Warsaw, and later in Berlin, where the painting remained after Casimir left for the USSR in June 1927. Later painting was given to the German architect Hugo Hering, who sold it to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, where it was kept for about 50 years.
Throughout the 20th century, the painting was repeatedly exhibited at various exhibitions, mainly European ones. The Amsterdam collection of works by Malevich is the largest outside former USSR- was acquired in 1958 by the city authorities for a solid sum of 120 thousand guilders at that time from the heirs famous architect Hugo Haring. He took these paintings out of Nazi Germany, where they were to be destroyed as "degenerate art." Malevich's paintings fell into Haring's hands by accident: the artist left more than a hundred paintings under his supervision in 1927, when they were exhibited in Berlin, and the author himself was urgently summoned to his homeland.
When in 2003-2004 the museum exhibited Malevich's paintings in the United States, the artist's heirs challenged the rights of Haring (and, accordingly, the museum) to dispose of them. After a 4-year trial, the parties came to an amicable agreement, according to the terms of which the museum ceded to the heirs five significant paintings from your collection. After 17 years of litigation, the painting was returned to the artist's heirs.
On November 3, 2008, at Sotheby's in New York, the painting was sold to an unknown buyer for $60,002,500, becoming one of the most expensive paintings in a story written by a Russian artist.
6. Winter landscape, 1930
Canvas, oil. 54x48.5 cm
Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Image winter day in this picture corresponds to the desire of the artist to change traditions and use other means of expression than before. The style of writing is primitivist, the picture was painted as if by an inept child's hand, when there were still no skills in drawing complex objects, and experienced artist draws what he sees with geometric figures. Malevich, an experienced artist, specifically applied this method to convey the feeling of a winter day. His trees are made up of circles, which are supposed to represent snow caps. The figurine in the background shows how deep the snow is. The artist uses clean, saturated colors that are unconventional for depicting winter.
7. Cow and violin, 1913
Oil on wood 48.8 x 25.8 cm.
Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
In 1913, between visits to St. Petersburg, Malevich found himself in Kuntsevo, not far from Nemchinovka, where he and his family rented a dacha - it was much cheaper than renting an apartment in Moscow. The lack of money was chronic. Sometimes there was not enough money even for a canvas - and then furniture was used. Three shelves of an ordinary bookcase were destined to gain immortality, becoming three paintings by Malevich. "Toilet box", "Station without stopping", "Cow and violin" have the same dimensions, and at the corners of their wooden rectangles, closed round holes are noticeable, through which the posts connecting them once passed.
According to Malevich, the fundamental law of creativity was the “law of contrasts”, which he also called the “moment of struggle”. The first picture that clearly embodied the paradoxical nature of the open law was the Cow and the violin. It is noteworthy that the author considered it necessary to explain the outrageous meaning of the plot with a detailed inscription on the back: “An illogical comparison of two forms -“ a cow and a violin ”- as a moment of struggle with logic, naturalness, petty-bourgeois meaning and prejudices. K. Malevich”. In "The Cow and the Violin" Malevich deliberately combined two forms, two "quotes" symbolizing various areas art.
8. Grinder, 1913
Oil on canvas 79.5x79.5 cm
Art Gallery Yale University
The painting "Grinder" was painted by Kazemir Malevich in 1913. The painting is currently in the Yale University Art Gallery. Currently, "Grinder" is a classic canvas of Russian cubo-futurism. Another name for the painting is "The Principle of Flickering". It is it that perfectly indicates the thought of the artist. In the picture, we see a repetition of countless crushing contours and silhouettes that are in a gray-blue color. When looking at the picture, the flickering of the knife sharpening process is perfectly felt. The grinder appears at the same time at different points in space.
9. Reaper, 1912
Oil on canvas 68x60 cm
Astrakhan regional Art Gallery them. B.M. Kustodieva, Astrakhan
Malevich's paintings are very famous, which are usually attributed to the first peasant series - these are canvases such as "Reaper", "Carpenter", "Harvesting Rye" and other paintings. These paintings clearly show the turning point in Malevich's vision of creativity. The figures of peasants, busy with vital concerns, are spread over the entire field of the picture, they are primitivistally simplified, deliberately enlarged and deformed in the name of greater expressiveness, iconographic in terms of the sound of color and strictly sustained flatness. Rural residents, their work and life are exalted and heroized. The peasants of Malevich, as if made up of curved sheets of hard material with a metallic sheen, for all their sketchiness, initially had recognizable forms of real male and female figures. Roughly carved heads and powerful bodies were most often placed in profile; the characters depicted in the front, impressive monumentality.
10. Self-portrait, 1933
Oil on canvas 73 x 66 cm
Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
This unexpected realistic "Self-Portrait", created in 1933, became the creative testament of the great Russian avant-garde artist. By that time, he had already discovered terrible disease, there was little left to live. By the way, some researchers claim that the development of prostate cancer was provoked by specific methods of influence used on Malevich during interrogations in 1930. Be that as it may, the master left unbroken. And this portrait, clearly oriented towards high Renaissance examples, irrefutably proves this. Malevich does not refuse anything (the Suprematist background of the painting alone is worth something!), asserting the right of the artist to free creativity, which was forbidden in totalitarian state, preoccupied with the device earthly paradise. The very granite statuarity of the pose, the very solemn gesture - all this is evidence that even on the verge of death, Malevich does not renounce his mission.
The painting "Black Square" by Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) is one of the most famous works art of the last century. It was written in 1915 and became a turning point in the development of the Russian avant-garde. The author of the painting is considered the creator of a new direction in painting - Suprematism, which became a real challenge to everything that was before in the visual arts.
A picture that draws attention
Despite its apparent simplicity, the painting "Black Square" always attracts great attention and occupies a special place in the exhibition space. Malevich wrote that Suprematism can be divided into three stages, according to its three squares - black, red and white. The most notable of the three was the Black Square painting. It was written neatly, in a single black tone, without smears and streaks.
Malevich's philosophy was based on everything that had accumulated in the literature and art of that period, and at the same time ran counter to what he had tried earlier. The result of this was the emergence of a new pictorial religion, in which the starting point was reflected on the dial - zero. A whole concept was created - from cubism to suprematism.
Audacious challenge
The painting "Black Square" with its harsh simplicity and openness of challenge in relation to other pictorial forms caused a real storm in the art world. The purity and clarity of the work of Kazimir Malevich became a revolutionary new way of perception and sowed confusion in the ranks of the intelligentsia, which adhered to the traditional way of thinking. It was an attempt to establish a new world order, which sets itself the difficult task of recoding the world and starting communication in a previously unknown cosmic language. Malevich later even called himself the president of the space.
Clear sense of space
Suprematist paintings of the author embody a clear sense of space. Thick local colors fight among themselves in a state of complete plastic harmony. White background always pure and undiluted, and the non-objective pictures depicted on it are filled with chastity and lightness. The absence of heavy frames enhances the feeling of lightness and flight in space.
Malevich's painting Black Square was a key moment in his painting and became the subject of endless conversations and disputes. Students and associates of the artist accepted his revelation with enthusiasm and understanding, and soon they themselves began to create works that reflect the overwhelming influence of the master. Malevich's painting "The Black Square" on a white background has become a symbol, the main element in the system of Suprematism, a step into a new art.
The author about his work
Malevich said that in 1913, in a desperate attempt to free art from the ballast of objectivity, he took refuge in a square and showed a picture that consisted only of a black square on a white canvas. The critics and the public only sighed, because everything they loved is lost, they felt like in a desert... Before them there was only a black square on a white background!
Malevich lamented that the square turned out to be incomprehensible and dangerous for critics and the public ... But he expected this: the contours of the objective world disappeared more and more, and so on, step by step, until, finally, the world and everything that was loved and than lived, lost sight of. But the desert is filled with the spirit of a non-objective sensation that pervades everything. The blissful feeling of liberation of bias attracted the artist back to the desert, where there is nothing real, except for feeling ... So feeling became the main thing in his life.
The black square is a feeling
This is not just an empty square, it is, according to the author, rather a feeling of bias. Suprematism is a rediscovery pure art, which over time became noticeable due to the accumulation of things. But nature and meaning artistic creativity continue to be misunderstood, because feeling is, after all, always and everywhere the only source of all creation. Emotions that ignite in a person are stronger than the person himself.
Paintings by Kazimir Malevich: "Black Square"
Titles such as "Dead Square" and "Void" were given by critics. For Malevich, however, this square symbolizes feeling, and the white field around the figure represents complete emptiness. The author does not focus on specific subject and refers to the purity of mathematical geometry.
However, the "Black Square" is not as simple as it seems. Even accepting art of the zero degree, Malevich makes a point of intense perception of the drawing, which can be read in two ways, either it is a black square on a white background, or it is a black hole surrounded by a white border. Each object has a static facade and internal dynamics. This is the description of the painting "Black Square".
Revolutionary Symbol and Dynamic Suprematism
So what is Suprematism? The concept created by Malevich primarily reflects the superiority of color in painting. The artist took geometric shapes, a limited palette, and created a particular emphasis on the painted forms that exist on canvas in pure form, without scenes, landscapes and people.
The painting "Black Square" by Malevich (photo can be seen in the article) is not the first in the new movement, a completely different type of object was chosen here than before. Despite the author's assurances that this was the first Suprematist painting, the so-called pure zero, pure beginning, modern science and x-rays can shed light on this dark history.
The history of the painting "Black Square"
It was in the middle of World War I, after the 1905 revolution, during the ongoing turmoil. Just a few years after the picture was painted, in 1917, the Bolshevik uprising and the Great October Revolution would break out.
The painting "Black Square" (the photo below can be seen in the article) appeared at a time when Russian society, although familiar with cubism and futuristic work, had not encountered work like this one. It was difficult to imagine Malevich's artistic revolution apart from social revolution that was going on in society at the time. The artist did not intend to depict any specific and the real thing- it was a sign of a new era.
At the exhibition of futuristic painting
When Malevich presented his black square at the exhibition futuristic painting, which took place in Petrograd in December 1915, he was interested in demonstrating Suprematism and his new idea. The work was placed high on the wall in the corner of the room, where Malevich's "Black Square" signified more than just a painting. It was the most sacred place where they hung Orthodox icon in a traditional Russian home, the people in Petrograd were no exception. Malevich wanted to give his work a special spiritual significance, to make it the center of the exposition and the most important emblem of his new style.
In his further activity, the artist repeatedly returned to figurative painting, he signed many of his works with a small black square. At his funeral, mourners held flags emblazoned with this symbol. One of the flags was fixed in the Suprematist style on the coffin of the deceased. A black square is depicted on his monument near the lost burial site.
The black square has become not only calling card its creator, but also an icon of art of the twentieth century.
strange picture
It's been over a century since the work was written, but people still find it a bit odd. What is the meaning of the painting "Black Square"? Some see it as a window into the night or into afterworld, others see just a black figure on a white canvas. Malevich intended to change the idea of painting forever in order to present reality in a more intriguing light, to do something simple and nondescript, but at the same time revolutionary. The legendary work that marked the beginning of non-objective art was exhibited for the first time on December 7, 1915.
Where is the painting "Black Square" today? There were several of them, the first work (1913) and the third (1923) are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and the second (1923) - in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
All the secret becomes clear
Why is the work written by Kazimir Malevich - "Black Square" so mysterious? The meaning of the picture for some seems infinitely deep, while others do not see it there at all. It turns out that two whole images are hidden under famous masterpiece. In November 2015, it became known that not only one, as previously thought, but two whole color paintings were hidden under a black square.
Scientists have deciphered an inscription believed to have been left by Kazimir Malevich. There were such words: "Battle of blacks in a dark cave." Surprisingly, a painting with this name has already been painted by the French artist Alphonse Allais (1854-1905). It is likely that Malevich painted his creation on top of other images, but the "Black Square" was more of a manifesto than a painting, so everything connected with it looks like one big and dark secret.
Kazimir Malevich: the man who freed painting
The famous artist was born in Ukraine, but had Polish origin. IN adolescence he taught himself to draw, trying on the methods of folk art. In 1907 he moved to permanent place residence in Moscow. He studied realism, impressionism and symbolism, gradually delving into the history of art.
Important to its development were two collections of art from the west. The works of Monet, Gauguin, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso inspired him even more in pursuit of the avant-garde style, he was especially attracted to cubism and futurism. This was followed by a period of isolation, which gave him the First World War. It was then, cut off from external irritation, that he was able to take a big step, which resulted in the emergence of a new direction - Suprematism.
New understanding of empirical reality
His own compositions have a complex theoretical basis, which is why he uses such bold abstract language with such ease.
The artist's work was often associated with mysticism because of his literary interests. His books were often philosophical in nature. He was fascinated by ideas about the fourth dimension. However, his perception of art was decisively influenced by the views of the Russian formalist Roman Yakobson and the poetic innovations of Kruchenykh and Khlebnikov. He shared with these poets his desire to explode conventional logic in order to arrive at a new understanding of empirical reality.
He was also indebted to his fellow artists Natalya Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov, who kindled in him a passion for folk art and instilled an interest in the power of icons. As an artist, teacher and revolutionary, Malevich sought to overturn centuries of painting, rooted in Renaissance ideals. This art, he stated, was purely aesthetic, unlike Suprematism. It is argued that the author of the black square went further than Picasso or Matisse.
Kazimir Malevich was the founder of the artistic and philosophical school of Suprematism. His ideas about forms and meaning in art are theoretical basis non-objective or abstract art. Malevich worked in various styles, but his most important and notable works focused on the study of pure geometric shapes (squares, triangles and circles) and their relationship to each other in the pictorial space.
"Black Square" - an icon of the Russian avant-garde
Suprematism was one of the most influential trends in abstract art XX century. It was characterized by simple geometric shapes: a straight line, a rectangle, a circle, a square on a light background meant the infinity of space. The ideas of Suprematism were successfully embodied in architecture, scenography, graphics and industrial design. Unlike many other "...isms", the names for which were invented after the fact by art historians, Suprematism owes its birth, existence, development, theoretical justification, promotion to the masses and even speculative-cosmic prospects to just one person - Kazimir Severinovich Malevich.
Suprematism is an art that struggles to break out of natural forms in the direction of geometric abstraction. The birth of the "Black Square" was not an act of rational consciousness or the result of a carefully planned strategy - its appearance was unexpected and mystical even for the artist himself. As one of his students recalls, he could neither eat nor sleep for a whole week since he painted the picture.
Such a simple picture a child could write, although children would not have the patience to fill out such a large area one color. Any draftsman could do this job, but draftsmen are not interested in simple geometric shapes. A similar picture can be made by a mentally ill person, but if he did, it is unlikely that he would have slightest chance get to the exhibition and be in right time and in right place. It was Malevich who became the author of "Black Square", one of the most famous, mysterious and frightening works of art in the world.
