The year 1915 marked a pivotal moment in art history when Kazimir Malevich introduced Black Square, a painting of a black square on a plain white background. Although seemingly simple, this work marked the beginning of Suprematism, a new approach to art that abandoned concrete forms in favor of pure, non-figurative visual expression.
1) Portrait of Kazimir Malevich (1925). 2) The work "Black Square" (1915). 3) The work "Portrait of Mikhail Matyushin" (1913).
Kazimir Malevich (1879–1935) was a central figure in Russian avant-garde art. He believed that art need not represent the external world, but could be a means of directly expressing feelings and spiritual awareness. He developed the idea that basic geometric shapes such as the square and the circle were more appropriate for depicting inner essence than worldly objects.
The work "Suprematism" (1915) and the work "Party" (1908).
Suprematism emerged as a movement advocating the liberation of art from the obligation to record visual reality. Through primary colors and minimal composition, this movement sought to emphasize the "primacy of inner experience" in the artistic process. In the context of Russia on the eve of revolution, this approach aligned with the spirit of renewal that was taking hold, not only in art but also in society.
The work "The Knife Grinder Principle of Glittering" (1913) and the work "Sensation of Danger".
When first exhibited in Petrograd in the “0.10” exhibition, Black Square was installed in the upper corner of the room, a place traditionally reserved for religious icons in Russian Orthodox culture. This move was not only visually radical but also symbolically radical, elevating abstract art to a near-sacred position.
1) Malevich standing in the Museum of Artistic Culture, Petrograd. 2) Exhibition 0.10: A section of Suprematist works by Kazimir Malevich exhibited for the first time.
To this day, Black Square remains a symbol of the courage to transcend the boundaries of tradition. Malevich and Suprematism laid a crucial foundation for modern art, paving the way for a wider range of freer and more experimental artistic expressions.
Written by Noverdy R
Reference:
- Bowlt, John E. Russian Art of the Avant-Garde: Theory and Criticism 1902–1934. Thames & Hudson, 1988.
- Malevich, Kazimir. The Non-Objective World. Paul Theobald and Company, 1959.
- Railing, Patricia. “Malevich and the End of Painting.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 58, no. 3, 2000.
- Camfield, William A. The Rise of Abstract Art in Russia. Garland Publishing, 1979.
