Black Square
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''Black Square'' () is a 1915 oil on linen canvas painting by the
Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...
artist and theorist
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
. There are four painted versions, the first of which was completed in 1915 and described by the artist as his breakthrough work and the inception of his
Suprematist Suprematism () is an early 20th-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstract art based upon "the supremacy of p ...
art movement (1915–1919).Jakovljevic (2004), p. 19 In his manifesto for the Suprematist movement Malevich said the paintings were intended as "desperate struggle to free art from the ballast of the objective world" by focusing only on form.Blanshard (1949). p. 4 He sought to create paintings that all could understand and that would have an emotional impact comparable to religious works. The 1915 ''Black Square'' was the turning point in his career and defined the aesthetic he was to follow for the remainder of his career; his other significant paintings include variants such as ''
White on White ''Suprematist Composition: White on White'' (1918) is an abstract oil-on-canvas painting by Kazimir Malevich. It is one of the more well-known examples of the Russian Suprematism movement, painted the year after the October Revolution. Par ...
'' (1918), ''
Black Circle ''Black Circle'' (or ''motive 1915'') is a 1924 oil-on-canvas painting by the Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich, founder of the Suprematism movement. From the mid-1910s, Malevich abandoned any trace of figurature or representation fro ...
'' (c. 1924), and '' Black Cross'' (c. 1920–23). Malevich painted three other versions; in 1923, 1929, and between the late 1920s and early 1930s. Each version differs slightly in size and texture. The original painting was first shown at The Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10 in 1915. The last is thought to have been painted during the late 1920s or early 1930s. Malevich described the 1915 painting as the "zero point of painting"; since then, it has had a significant influence on
minimalist art Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and Minimalist music, music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms ...
.


Conception

A self-taught artist,
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
's early works, created while still a teenager, incorporate the style and motifs of Ukrainian and Russian
folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
and
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s. Spalding, Frances.
Kazimir Malevich: the man who liberated painting
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 4 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2024
In the early 1900s, when he was heavily influenced by late 19th-century
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. He moved from his birthplace of
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
(present-day Ukraine) to Moscow in 1907, where he came into contact with leading Russian
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
artists such as
Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (, ; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Goncharova's lifelong partner was fellow Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Lariono ...
and
Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...
.Brenson, Michael.
Malevich's Search for a New Reality
. ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 17 September 1990. Retrieved 12 April 2024
He first used the motif of a black square while working as the
stage designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...
for the premiere of the Cubo-Futuristic opera ''
Victory over the Sun __NOTOC__ ''Victory over the Sun'' (, ''Pobeda nad Solntsem'') is a Russian Futurist opera premiered in 1913 at the Luna Park in Saint Petersburg. The libretto written in '' zaum'' language was contributed by Aleksei Kruchonykh, the music wa ...
'' by the painter and composer
Mikhail Matyushin Michael Vasilyevich Matyushin (; 1861 in Nizhny Novgorod – 14 October 1934 in Leningrad) was a Russian painter and composer, leading member of the Russian avant-garde. In 1910–1913 Matyushin and his wife Elena Guro (1877–1913) were ...
's (1861–1934), staged at the Luna Park Theater in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
on 3 December, 1913.Drutt (2003), p. 25 Although the opera is ostensibly a comedic farce, the plot satirises the religious dogma and
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
ist autocracy then dominating pre-revolution Russia. Its
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
was written by the poet
Velimir Khlebnikov Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov, better known by the pen name ( rus, Велими́р Хле́бников, p=vʲɪlʲɪˈmʲir ˈxlʲɛbnʲɪkəf; – 28 June 1922), was a Russian poet and playwright, a central part of the Russian Futurist ...
(1885–1922), and follows protagonists seeking to "abolish reason" by capturing the sun and destroying time. The opera ends with a world in darkness, which Khlebnikov intended to represent the a future after the destruction of Russian tradition. These ideas resonated with Malevich's
year zero A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year (which is the ...
views on the purpose of contemporary Modernist art. Malevich's sketches for the costumes seem largely influenced by
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
and
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
. However, a number, including those known today as ''Futurist Strongman'', ''Grave Digger'' and ''A Certain Evil Intender'', are in colour but contain distinct black squares and rectangles.Kovtun; Douglas (1981), p. 235 During the pivotal scene depicting the death of the sun, black squares appear eight times: on a curtain and the backdrops, and on the coats and hats of the sun's
pall bearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the Coffin, casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the ...
s. He was immediately aware of the design's potential, wrote pleading letters to Matyushin to retain it when the composer was planning a 1915 performance of the opera. In the letters, Malevich claimed that the square "will have great significance in painting" and is the "embryo of all possibilities; in its development it acquires a terrible strength."


Composition

Malevich created the first version in 1915 using broad strokes of thick black oil paint onto a 79.5cm x 79.5cm
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
canvas. The border and edges were applied with various shades of white and grey paint. Malevich was a prolific and talented self-publicist and has been described as both a "brilliant, grandiose, messianic figure" and a "fanatic pamphleteer". Sensing a breakthrough, he declared the painting as a milestone in both his oeuvre and "in the history of art". He later wrote that he was so excited at the breakthrough that he was unable to "sleep, eat, or drink for an entire week after". The painting was first shown at the 1915 The Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10 at the Field of Mars square in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(then Petrograd).Drutt (2003), p. 47 Its hanging in the
icon corner The icon corner, sacred corner or red corner, () is a small Christian worship space prepared in the homes of Eastern Orthodox, Greek-Catholic, Eastern Lutheran and Roman Catholic Christians. It has pre-Christian roots and also appears in hom ...
emphasised the collision between
Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
and traditional
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
culture.Roald, Lang (2013), p. 50 Over the following decades, Malevich made three other
oil on canvas Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or copper for several centuries. ...
variants (in 1924, 1929, while the final version is thought to date from the late 1920s or early 1930s).Kasimir Malevich. Black Square
.
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
. Retrieved 18 April 2024
He created numerous
lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
s of the image, used it to decorate his signature, and applied it to lapels he gave to his students.Meinhardt (1994) The reverse contains the inscription "1913", however, this is thought to refer to the year of the design's conception that year for ''Victory over the Sun''. He continued to refer to it as ''The main Suprematist element. Square. 1913''. According to an overview of the work by
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...
, Malevich may have given an earlier date to appear more ahead of the curve during the early years of
Abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
.


Interpretation

''Black Square'' is widely regarded by art historians as foundational in the development of both
modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...
and
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
. Malevich said the paintings began the
Suprematism Suprematism () is an early 20th-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstract art based upon "the supremacy of p ...
movement, which emphasised colour and shape. The title "Suprematism" is derived from the word ''supremus'' (Russian: Супремус), which translates as "superior" or "perfected", which Malevich said reflected his desire to "liberate" painting from
mimesis Mimesis (; , ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including '' imitatio'', imitation, similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of ...
(imitation) and
representational art Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else.Mitchell, W. 1995, "Representation", in F Lentricchia & T McLaughlin (eds), ''Critical Terms for Literary Study'', 2nd edn, University of Chicago Press, Chica ...
. Although the movement gained many supporters among the
Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...
, it was overshadowed by
constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
, whose manifesto better reflected the ideology of the early Soviet government and which had a larger influence on later 20th century art. Today Suprematism is almost exclusively associated with Malevich and his apprentice
El Lissitzky El Lissitzky (, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky , ; – 30 December 1941), was a Soviet Jewish artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the Russian avant-garde, h ...
.Five ways to look at Malevich's Black Square
. Tate. Retrieved 1 March 2024
File:Red Square. Visual Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions.jpg, ''
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
'', 1915. Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg File:White on White (Malevich, 1918).png, '' White Square'' (also known as ''White on White''), 1918.
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, New York City File:Чёрный круг.png, ''
Black Circle ''Black Circle'' (or ''motive 1915'') is a 1924 oil-on-canvas painting by the Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich, founder of the Suprematism movement. From the mid-1910s, Malevich abandoned any trace of figurature or representation fro ...
'', c. 1924.
State Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...
, St. Petersburg


Versions

Malevich produced three oil on canvas copies of the original painting. The first copy was completed in 1923. The second copy was painted around 1923 in collaboration with his students Anna Leporskaya, Konstantin Rozhdestvensky and Nikolay Suyetin.Wolfe, Shira.
Stories of Iconic Artworks: Kazimir Malevich's Black Square
. Artland Magazine, 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2024
The third ''Black Square'' (also at the Tretyakov Gallery) was painted c. 1929 for Malevich's solo exhibition, perhaps as a stand-in for a solo exhibition as the original was by then in poor condition. The final ''Black Square'' is the smallest and may have been intended as a diptych along with the smaller again ''
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
'' for the 1932 exhibition Artists of the RSFSR: 15 Years in Leningrad, where the two squares formed the centerpiece of the show. File:Чёрный квадрат. Ок.1923. ГРМ.png, ''Black Square'', c. 1923, Russian Museum File:Black Square (Malevich, 1929) by shakko 01 (cropped).jpg, ''Black Square'', 1929, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow File:Malevich, Kazimir Severinovich - Black Square.jpg, ''Black Square'', c. late 1920s–1930s, Tretyakov Gallery


Influence

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
art fell from favour after
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
took absolute control of the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in the late 1920s. Stalin was notoriously suspicious of people who traveled outside the Soviet Union, and Malevich came to the attention of Stalin's
secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...
as a possible dissident in early 1927 when he traveled to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to attended the ''Grosse Kunstausstellung]'' exhibition where around 70 of his paintings and drawings scheduled for display. Tony Wood (historian), Wood, Tony.
The man they couldn't hang
. ''The Guardian'', 11 May 2000. Retrieved 18 April 2024
Malevich was aware that progressive artists were likely to be suppressed in Russia, and made attempts to relocate to Germany, where the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
party was already targeting so-called " degenerate art", that is art that did not conform to the idealised
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
way of living, which was based around, according to the historian Tony Wood a dedication to "family, home and church", and was "ironically...a mirror image of the socialist realism of the hated Communists." Malevich was arrested for several days in 1930. His work was officially banned in the USSR shortly after his early death in 1935 after Stalin's favoured socialist realism was designated the official art of the union, and many other art forms were suppressed. Although ''Black Square'' wasn't exhibited again until the 1980s, today the work is regarded as historically significant in
Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
, and one of the most recognisable 20th century paintings.


Condition

The painting has degraded considerably since its creation.Philip Shaw
The Art of the Sublime – 'Kasimir Malevich's Black Square'
. Tate Research Publication, January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
According to the American art critic
Peter Schjeldahl Peter Charles Schjeldahl (; March 20, 1942 – October 21, 2022) was an American art critic, poet, and educator. He was noted for being the head art critic at ''The New Yorker'', having earlier written for ''The Village Voice'', ''ARTnews'', and ...
, "the painting looks terrible: crackled, scuffed, and discolored, as if it had spent the past eighty-eight years patching a broken window. In fact, it passed most of that time deep in the Soviet archives, classed among the lowliest of the state's treasures. Malevich, like other members of the Revolutionary-era Russian avant-garde, was thrown into oblivion under
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
. The axe fell on him in 1930. Accused of ' formalism', he was interrogated and jailed for two months."


References


Sources

* Blanshard, Frances Bradshaw. "Retreat from Likeness in the Theory of Painting". New York: Columbia University Press, 1949 * Drutt, Matthew. ''Malevich, Black Square, 1915''. New York: Guggenheim, 2003. * Jakovljevic, Branislav. "Unframe Malevich!: Ineffability and Sublimity in Suprematism". ''Art Journal'', volume 63, no. 3, Autumn 2004. * Kovtun, E. F.; Douglas, Charlotte. "Kazimir Malevich". ''Art Journal'', volume 41, no. 3, Autumn, 1981. * Naldi, Johann. ''Arts incohérents, discoveries and new perspectives''. Paris: Lienart, April 2022. * Meinhardt, Johannes.
The Painting As Empty Space: Allan McCollum's Subversion of the Last Painting
'. ''AURA'', Vienna: Wiener Secession, 1994. * Pinkham, Sophie. ''Black Square: Adventures in Post-Soviet Ukraine''. Cornerstone Digital, 2016. * Roald, Tone; Lang, Johannes. ''Art and Identity: Essays on the Aesthetic of Creation of the Mind''. Rodopi, 2013. * Shatskikh, Aleksandra. "Black Square: Malevich and the Origin of Suprematism".
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
, 2012 {{Modernism 1915 paintings Minimalism Paintings by Kazimir Malevich Collection of the Tretyakov Gallery