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Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (Запись о рождении в метрической книге римско-католического костёла св. Александра в Киеве, 1879 год
// ЦГИАК Украины, ф. 1268, оп. 1, д. 26, л. 13об—14.
– 15 May 1935) was a
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 art theorist, whose pioneering work and writing influenced the development 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- ...
in the 20th century.Milner and Malevich 1996, p. X; Néret 2003, p. 7; Shatskikh and Schwartz, p. 84. He was born in
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, ...
, modern-day
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, to an ethnic Polish family. His concept of
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 ...
sought to develop a form of expression that moved as far as possible from the world of natural forms (objectivity) and subject matter in order to access "the supremacy of pure feeling"Malevich, Kazimir. ''The Non-Objective World'', Chicago: Theobald, 1959. and spirituality. Active primarily in Russia, Malevich was a founder of the
UNOVIS UNOVIS (, also known as MOLPOSNOVIS and POSNOVIS) was a short-lived but influential group of artists, founded and led by Russian painter Kazimir Malevich at the Vitebsk Art School in 1919. Initially formed by students and known as MOLPOSNOVIS, ...
artist collective. His work has been variously associated with 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 ...
and the
Ukrainian avant-garde Ukrainian avant-garde is the avant-garde movement in Ukrainian art from the end of 1890s to the middle of the 1930s along with associated artists in sculpture, painting, literature, cinema, theater, stage design, graphics, music, and architecture. ...
, and he is a central figure in the history of
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 ...
in Central and Eastern Europe more broadly. Early on, Malevich worked in a variety of styles, quickly assimilating the movements of
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 ...
,
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
and
Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...
and, after visiting Paris in 1912,
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 ...
. Gradually simplifying his style, he developed an approach with key works consisting of pure
geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
forms and their relationships to one another, set against minimal grounds. His '' Black Square'' (1915), a black square on white, represented the most radically abstract painting yet exhibited,Chipp, Herschel B. ''Theories of Modern Art'', Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968, p. 311-2. and drew "an uncrossable line (…) between old art and new art";Tolstaya, Tatiana
"The Square,"
''New Yorker'', 12 June 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
''Suprematist Composition:
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), a barely differentiated off-white square superimposed on an off-white ground, would take his ideal of pure abstraction to its logical conclusion.de la Croix, Horst and Richard G. Tansey, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 7th Ed., New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980, p. 826-7. In addition to his paintings, Malevich laid down his theories in writing, such as "From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism" (1915) and ''The Non-Objective World: The Manifesto of Suprematism'' (1926). Malevich's trajectory in many ways mirrored the tumult of the decades surrounding the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
in 1917.Bezverkhny, Eva
"Malevich in his Milieu,"
''Hyperallergic'', 24 July 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
In its immediate aftermath, vanguard movements such as Suprematism and
Vladimir Tatlin Vladimir Yevgrafovich Tatlin (; ; – 31 May 1953) was a Russian and Soviet painter, architect, and stage-designer. Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed The Monument to the Third International, more commonly known as Tatlin's Tower, ...
's
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 ...
were encouraged by
Trotskyite Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
factions in the government. Malevich held several prominent teaching positions and received a solo show at the Sixteenth State Exhibition in Moscow in 1919. His recognition spread to the West with solo exhibitions in Warsaw and Berlin in 1927. From 1928 to 1930, he taught at the Kiev Art Institute, with
Alexander Bogomazov Alexander Konstantinovich Bogomazov () or Oleksandr Kostiantynovych Bohomazov (; March 26, 1880 – June 3, 1930) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian Painting, painter, cubo-futurist, modern art theory, theoretician and is recognised as one of the key fi ...
, Victor Palmov,
Vladimir Tatlin Vladimir Yevgrafovich Tatlin (; ; – 31 May 1953) was a Russian and Soviet painter, architect, and stage-designer. Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed The Monument to the Third International, more commonly known as Tatlin's Tower, ...
and published his articles in a Kharkiv magazine '' Nova Generatsiia'' (New generation).Filevska, Tetiana
"Five unknown facts about Malevich"
. ''Opinion'', 23 February 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
But the start of repression in Ukraine against the
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
forced Malevich to return to
Leningrad 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 ...
(Saint Petersburg). From the beginning of the 1930s, modern art was falling out of favor with the new government of
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 ...
. Malevich soon lost his teaching position, his artworks and manuscripts were confiscated, and he was banned from making art.Nina Siegal (5 November 2013)
"Rare Glimpse of the Elusive Kazimir Malevich"
. ''
The 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 ...
''.
Wood, Tony
"The man they couldn't hang"
''The Guardian'', 10 May 2000. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
In 1930, he was imprisoned for two months due to suspicions raised by his trip to Poland and Germany. Forced to abandon abstraction, he painted in a representational style in the years before his death from cancer in 1935 at age 56. His art and his writings influenced contemporaries such as
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 ...
,
Lyubov Popova Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova (; April 24, 1889 – May 25, 1924) was a Russian-Soviet avant-garde artist, Painting, painter and designer. Early life Popova was born in Ivanovskoye District, Ivanovskoe, near Moscow, to the wealthy family of Sergei ...
and
Alexander Rodchenko Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design; he was married to the artist Varvara Stepa ...
, as well as generations of later abstract artists, such as
Ad Reinhardt Adolph Friedrich Reinhardt (December 24, 1913 – August 30, 1967) was an American abstract painter and art theorist active in New York City for more than three decades. As a theorist he wrote and lectured extensively on art and was a ...
and the Minimalists. He was celebrated posthumously in major exhibits at the
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 ...
(1936), the Guggenheim Museum (1973), and the
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
in Amsterdam (1989), which has a large collection of his work. In the 1990s, the ownership claims of museums to many Malevich works began to be disputed by his heirs.


Early life (1879-1904)

Kazimir Malevich was born in 1879 Kazimierz Malewicz to a Polish family,N.D. (26 July 2013)
Walczą o polskość Malewicza (Advocating the Polishness of Malewicz)
''Nowy Dziennik''.
who settled near Kiev in
Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...
of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
during the
partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
. His parents, Ludwika and Seweryn Malewicz, were
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
like most ethnic Poles, though his father attended Orthodox services as well. His native language was Polish, but he also spoke Russian, as well as Ukrainian due to his childhood surroundings. His mother Ludwika wrote poetry in Polish and sang Polish songs, and kept a record of the Polish families living in the area. Malevich would later write a series of articles in Ukrainian about art, and identified as Ukrainian. Kazimir's father managed a sugar factory. Kazimir was the first of fourteen children, only nine of whom survived into adulthood. His family moved often and he spent most of his childhood in the villages of modern-day Ukraine, amidst sugar-beet plantations, far from centers of culture. Until age twelve, he knew nothing of professional artists, although art had surrounded him in childhood. He delighted in peasant embroidery, and in decorated walls and stoves. He was able to paint in the peasant style. He studied drawing in Kiev from 1895 to 1896. From 1896 to 1904, Kazimir Malevich lived in
Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...
, where he encountered several Russian artists, including Lev Kvachevsky, with whom he often worked outdoors.


Avant-garde and Moscow (1904-1915)

In 1904, recognizing his style as increasingly more Impressionistic, he intended to receive more academic training and moved to
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Between 1905 and 1910, he worked in the studio of Fedor Rerberg in Moscow. Malevich and other artists in Moscow gained an early exposure to Western avant-garde art, particularly to the works of
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
and
Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...
, through the private collection of
Sergei Shchukin Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin (; 10 January 1936) was a Russian businessman who became an art collector, mainly of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Early life and family Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin was born on in Moscow, one of ten c ...
. By 1904, as more French art was being reproduced and discussed in Russia in the magazine ''
Mir iskusstva ''Mir iskusstva'' ( rus, «Мир искусства», p=ˈmʲir ɪˈskustvə, ''World of Art'') was both a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it fostered, playing a significant role in shaping the Russian avant-garde. The movement was d ...
'', Malevich had also become acquainted with the work of
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
. Symbolism had an impact on Malevich's work during that time, as evident in paintings such as ''The Triumph of Heaven'' (1907) and ''The Shroud of Christ'' (1908). In 1911, he participated in the second exhibition of the group, ''
Soyuz Molodyozhi Soyuz Molodyozhi (Union of the Youth, ) was an artistic group and an art magazine of Russian avant-garde organized in 1910. There were more than 30 members of the group and most of other Russian avant-garde participated in their exhibitions. Th ...
'' (Union of Youth) in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, together with
Vladimir Tatlin Vladimir Yevgrafovich Tatlin (; ; – 31 May 1953) was a Russian and Soviet painter, architect, and stage-designer. Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed The Monument to the Third International, more commonly known as Tatlin's Tower, ...
and, in 1912, the group held its third exhibition, which included works by
Aleksandra Ekster Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
, Tatlin, and others. In the same year, he participated in an exhibition by the collective, '' Donkey's Tail'' in Moscow. By that time, his works were influenced by
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 ...
, Russian avant-garde painters, who were particularly interested in Russian folk art called ''
lubok A ''lubok'' (plural ''lubki''; ) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories, and popular tales. ''Lubki'' prints were used as decoration in houses and inns. Early exampl ...
''. Malevich described himself as painting in a " Cubo-Futurist" style in 1912. Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing, pp. 794–795. In March 1913, Malevich participated in the ''Target'' exhibition in Moscow together with Goncharova and Larionov, continuing to reinterpret Futurist vocabularies to "suggest movement by breaking cone shapes into almost unrecognizable forms". Among other paintings, Malevich exhibited ''Morning in the Country after Snowstorm'' and '' Knifegrinder or Principle of Glittering'', both made in 1912, at ''Target'' for the first time. That same year, the Cubo-Futurist opera, '' Victory Over the Sun'', with Malevich's stage-set, debuts in Saint Petersburg. In 1914, Malevich exhibited his works in the ''
Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...
'' in Paris together with
Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian-American avant-garde artist, sculpture, sculptor, and graphic designer, graphic artist, active in France and the United States. He was one of the first to apply the principles o ...
,
Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (; 14 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist born to Jewish parents, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in the Russian Empire, now Ukraine, and was formally trained in Russia and Germany, be ...
,
Aleksandra Ekster Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
, and Vadim Meller, among others. Malevich also co-illustrated, with Pavel Filonov, ''Selected Poems with Postscript, 1907–1914'' by Velimir Khlebnikov and another work by Khlebnikov in 1914 titled ''Roar! Gauntlets, 1908–1914'', with
Vladimir Burliuk Vladimir Davydovych Burliuk (; ; – 1917) was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist ( Neo-Primitivist and Cubo-Futurist) and book illustrator from the Russian empire. He died at the age of 32 in 1917 in World War I. Biography Vladimir Davydovych Bur ...
. Later in that same year, he created a series of lithographs in support of Russia's entry into WWI. These prints, accompanied by captions by
Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...
and published by the Moscow-based publication house Segodniashnii Lubok (Contemporary Lubok), on the one hand show the influence of traditional folk art, but on the other are characterised by solid blocks of pure colours juxtaposed in compositionally evocative ways that anticipate his Suprematist work. In 1911, Brocard & Co. produced an eau de cologne called ''Severny''. Malevich conceived the advertisement and design of the perfume bottle with
craquelure Craquelure (; ) is a fine pattern of dense cracking formed on the surface of materials. It can be a result of drying, shock, aging, intentional patterning, or a combination of all four. The term is most often used to refer to tempera or oil pain ...
of an iceberg and a polar bear on the top, which lasted through the mid-1920s.


Suprematism (1915)

In 1915, Malevich laid down the foundations of
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 ...
when he published his manifesto, ''From Cubism to Suprematism''. In 1915–1916, he worked with other Suprematist artists in a peasant/artisan
co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
in
Skoptsi The Skoptsy (, ; ) were a cult within the larger Spiritual Christianity movement in the Russian Empire. They were best known for practising emasculation of men, the mastectomy and female genital mutilation of women in accordance with their teach ...
and Verbovka village. In 1916–1917, he participated in exhibitions of the Jack of Diamonds group in Moscow together with Nathan Altman,
David Burliuk David Davidovich Burliuk (; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian poet, artist and publicist of Ukrainian origin associated with the Futurism (art), Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as "the father of ...
,
Aleksandra Ekster Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...
and others. Famous examples of his Suprematist works include '' Black Square'' (1915) and ''
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). Malevich exhibited his first ''Black Square'', now at the
Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...
in Moscow, at the Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10 in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) in 1915. A black square placed against the sun appeared for the first time in the 1913 scenic designs for the
Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
opera ''Victory over the Sun''. The second ''Black Square'' was painted around 1923. Some believe that the third ''Black Square'' (also at the Tretyakov Gallery) was painted in 1929 for Malevich's solo exhibition, because of the poor condition of the 1915 square. One more ''Black Square'', the smallest and probably the last, may have been intended as a diptych together with the ''
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 ...
'' (though of smaller size) for the exhibition Artists of the RSFSR: 15 Years, held in Leningrad (1932). The two squares, Black and Red, were the centerpiece of the show. This last square, despite the author's note ''1913'' on the reverse, is believed to have been created in the late twenties or early thirties, for there are no earlier mentions of it. While Malevich's ideas and theories behind Suprematism were grounded in a belief in the spiritual and transformative power of art, he saw Suprematism as a way to access a higher, more pure realm of artistic expression and to tap into the spiritual through abstraction. Thus, the overarching philosophy of Suprematism expressed in various manifestos would be that he "transformed himself in the zero of form and dragged himself out of the rubbish-heap of illusion and the pit of naturalism. He destroyed the ring of the horizon and escaped from the circle of objects, moving from the horizon-ring to the circle of spirit". Malevich's student Anna Leporskaya observed that Malevich "neither knew nor understood what the black square contained. He thought it so important an event in his creation that for a whole week he was unable to eat, drink or sleep". In 1918, Malevich decorated a play, ''
Mystery-Bouffe ''Mystery-Bouffe'' (; Misteriya-Buff) is a socialism, socialist dramatic Play (theatre), play written by Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1918/1921. Mayakovsky stated in a preface to the 1921 edition that "in the future, all persons performing, presenting, ...
'', by Vladimir Mayakovskiy produced by
Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...
. He was interested in
aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other flight, airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wi ...
and
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
, which led him to abstractions inspired by or derived from
aerial landscape ::''(This article concerns painting and other non-photographic media. Otherwise, see aerial photography)'' Aerial landscape art includes paintings and other visual arts which depict or evoke the appearance of a landscape art, landscape from a p ...
s.Julia Bekman Chadaga (2000). Conference paper, "Art, Technology, and Modernity in Russia and Eastern Europe". Columbia University, 2000. "the Suprematist is associated with a series of aerial views rendering the familiar landscape into an abstraction…"


Painting technique

According to an observation by radiologist and art historian Milda Victurina, one of the features of Kazimir Malevich's painting technique was the layering of paints one on another to get a special kind of colour spots. For example, Malevich used two layers of colour for the red spot—the lower black and the upper red. The light ray going through these colour layers is perceived by the viewer not as red, but with a touch of darkness. This technique of superimposing the two colours allowed experts to identify fakes of Malevich's work, which generally lacked it.


Post-revolutionary years (1918-1935)

After the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
(1917), Malevich became a member of the Collegium on the Arts of
Narkompros The People's Commissariat for Education (or Narkompros; , directly translated as the "People's Commissariat for Enlightenment") was the Soviet agency charged with the administration of public education and most other issues related to culture. In 1 ...
, the Commission for the Protection of Monuments and the Museums Commission (all from 1918–1919). He taught at the
Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...
Practical Art School in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
(1919–1922) alongside
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
, the Leningrad Academy of Arts (1922–1927), the Kiev Art Institute (1928–1930),Filevska, Tetiana
"The Ukrainian Museum will be displaying new materials highlighting artistic modernism in Ukraine: Kazimir Malevich.Kyiv Period"
11 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
and the House of the Arts in Leningrad (1930). He wrote the book ''The World as Non-Objectivity'', which was published in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
in 1926 and translated into English in 1959. In it, he outlines his Suprematist theories. In 1923, Malevich was appointed director of Petrograd State Institute of Artistic Culture, which was forced to close in 1926 after a Communist party newspaper called it "a government-supported monastery" rife with "counterrevolutionary sermonizing and artistic debauchery." The Soviet state was by then heavily promoting an idealized, propagandistic style of art called Socialist Realism—a style Malevich had spent his entire career repudiating. Nevertheless, he swam with the current, and was quietly tolerated by the Communists. In 1927, Malevich traveled to
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
where he exhibited his work at the Polish Arts Club housed in the Polonia Hotel. He met with several Polish artists, including his former students Władysław Strzemiński and
Katarzyna Kobro Katarzyna Kobro (26 January 1898 – 21 February 1951) was a Polish avant-garde sculptor and a prominent representative of the Constructivist movement in Poland. A pioneer of innovative multi-dimensional abstract sculpture, she rejected A ...
, whose own movement, Unism, was highly influenced by Malevich, and
Henryk Stażewski Henryk Stażewski (pronounced: ; 9 January 1894 – 10 June 1988) was a Polish painter, visual artist and writer. Stażewski has been described as the "father of the Polish avant-garde" and is considered a pivotal figure in the history of Cons ...
, a prominent artist associated with Polish Constructivist movement. While generally greeted with enthusiasm, Malevich faced criticism from some artists, including Mieczysław Szczuka, who argued that Suprematism, as understood by Malevich, was no longer relevant for Polish utilitarianism-oriented avant-garde and that the artist was "a Romantic who loves painterly means for their own sake". Art historian Matthew Drutt notes that despite these criticisms, Malevich's Warsaw exhibition and the lecture on Suprematism he had delivered during his visit had a lasting effect on Polish modernism. From there, the painter ventured on to Berlin and
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
for a retrospective which finally brought him international recognition. He arranged to leave most of the paintings behind when he returned to the Soviet Union.


Stalinism and censorship

Malevich's assumption that a shifting in the attitudes of the
Soviet authorities The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...
toward the
modernist 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 ...
art movement would take place after the death of
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
and
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
's fall from power was proven correct in a couple of years, when the government of
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 ...
turned against forms of abstraction, considering them a type of "
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
" art, that could not express social realities. As a consequence, many of his works were confiscated and he was removed from his teaching position. In autumn 1930, he was arrested and interrogated by the
OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate ( rus, Объединённое государственное политическое управление, p=ɐbjɪdʲɪˈnʲɵn(ː)əjə ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əjə pəlʲɪˈtʲitɕɪskəjə ʊprɐˈv ...
in Leningrad, accused of Polish espionage, and threatened with execution. He was released from imprisonment in early December. Critics derided Malevich's art as a negation of everything good and pure: love of life and love of nature. The Westernizer artist and art historian Alexandre Benois was one such critic. Malevich responded that art can advance and develop for art's sake alone, saying that "art does not need us, and it never did".


Death

When Malevich died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
at the age of fifty-seven, in Leningrad on 15 May 1935, his friends and disciples buried his ashes in a grave marked with a black square. They didn't fulfill his stated wish to have the grave topped with an "architekton"—one of his skyscraper-like
maquette A ''maquette'' is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture or work of architecture. The term is a loanword from French. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch. Sculpture A maquette ...
s of abstract forms, equipped with a
telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...
through which visitors were to gaze at
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
. On his deathbed, Malevich had been exhibited with the ''Black Square'' above him, and mourners at his funeral rally were permitted to wave a banner bearing a black square. Malevich had asked to be buried under an oak tree on the outskirts of Nemchinovka, a place to which he felt a special bond.Sophia Kishkovsky (30 August 2013)
Malevich’s Burial Site Is Found, Underneath Housing Development
''
The 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 ...
''.
His ashes were sent to Nemchinovka, and buried in a field near his
dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...
. Nikolai Suetin, a friend of Malevich's and a fellow artist, designed a white cube with a black square to mark the burial site. The memorial was destroyed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The city of Leningrad bestowed a pension on Malevich's mother and daughter. In Nazi Germany his works were banned as " Degenerate Art". In 2013, an apartment block was built on the place of the tomb and burial site of Kazimir Malevich. Another nearby monument to Malevich, put up in 1988, is now also situated on the grounds of a
gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...
.


Nationality and ethnicity

Most academic literature and museum collections identify Malevich as a Russian painter, based on his integral role in shaping the Russian avant-garde, centered primarily around Moscow and Petrograd (modern-day St. Petersburg), and the fact that he achieved prominence while living and working in the Russian Empire and later, from 1922 until his death in 1935, the Soviet Union. However, his nationality has been a subject of scholarly dispute.


Polish

Malevich's family was one of the millions of Poles who lived within the Russian Empire following the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
. Kazimir Malevich was born near
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, ...
on lands that had previously been part of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
of parents who were ethnic
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
. Both Polish and Russian were native languages of Malevich, who would sign his artwork in the Polish form of his name as ''Kazimierz Malewicz''. In a 1926 visa application to travel to France, Malewicz claimed ''Polish'' as his nationality. French art historian Andrei Nakov, who re-established Malevich's birth year as 1879 (and not 1878), has argued for restoration of the Polish spelling of Malevich's name.In 1985, Polish performance artist Zbigniew Warpechowski performed "Citizenship for a Pure Feeling of Kazimierz Malewicz" as an homage to the great artist and critique of Polish authorities that refused to grant Polish citizenship to Kazimir Malevich. In 2013, Malevich's family in New York City and fans founded the not-for-profit ''The Rectangular Circle of Friends of Kazimierz Malewicz'', whose dedicated goal is to promote awareness of Kazimir's Polish ethnicity.


Ukrainian

According to Russian scholars Tatiana Mikhienko and , the secret police file from Malevich's arrest on September 20, 1930 indicates that Malevich declared his nationality as Ukrainian. Scholar Marie Gasper-Hulvat notes that this may have been in part motivated by Malevich's desire to avoid anti-Polish discrimination, since Ukraine was at that time part of the Soviet Union. It is sometimes claimed that he self-identified as a Ukrainian throughout his life. Similarly, the French art historian Gilles Néret claimed that Malevich, while at times identifying as Polish "out of tact or mischief" and using the Polish spelling of his name, always emphasized his Ukrainian background. Following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in 2022 there has been more political and cultural pressure to reconsider his Russian nationality and to identify him instead as Ukrainian painter. This push resulted in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
relabeling him as Ukrainian painter, and later Stedelijk Museum labeling him as "Ukrainian painter of Polish origin". The relabeling caused a backlash from Russia, including a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the consensus among art historians, including those of Ukrainian origin, is that whereas the discussion (related to the Russian colonialism) clearly needs to take place among all involved parties, it has not yet occurred, and the question concerning the identity of Malevich has not been solved as of 2023.


Legacy

Alfred H. Barr Jr. included several paintings in the groundbreaking exhibition "Cubism and Abstract Art" at the
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 ...
in New York in 1936. In 1939, the Museum of Non-Objective Painting opened in New York, whose founder, Solomon R. Guggenheim—an early and passionate collector of the Russian avant-garde—was inspired by the same aesthetic ideals and spiritual quest that exemplified Malevich's art.Malevich and the American Legacy, March 3 – April 30, 2011
Gagosian Gallery The Gagosian Gallery is a modern and contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. As of 2024, Gagosian employs 300 people at 19 exhibiti ...
, New York.
The first U.S. retrospective of Malevich's work in 1973 at the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...
provoked a flood of interest and further intensified his impact on postwar American and European artists. However, most of Malevich's work and the story of the Russian avant-garde remained under lock and key until
Glasnost ''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...
. In 1989, the
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
in Amsterdam held the West's first large-scale Malevich retrospective, including the paintings they owned and works from the collection of Russian art critic Nikolai Khardzhiev.


Collections

Malevich's works are held in several major art museums, including the
State Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...
in Moscow, and in New York, the
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 ...
and the Guggenheim Museum. The
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
in Amsterdam owns 24 Malevich paintings, more than any other museum outside of Russia. Another major collection of Malevich works is held by the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki.


Art market

''Black Square'', the fourth version of his
magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...
painted in the 1920s, was discovered in 1993 in
Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
and purchased by Inkombank for US$250,000. In April 2002, the painting was
auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
ed for an equivalent of US$1 million. The purchase was financed by the Russian philanthropist
Vladimir Potanin Vladimir Olegovich Potanin (; born 3 January 1961) is a Russian oligarch. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in the early to mid-1990s. As of May 7, 2025, Forbes ranked 81st richest in ...
, who donated funds to the Russian Ministry of Culture, and ultimately, to the
State 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 ...
collection. According to the Hermitage website, this was the largest private contribution to state art museums since the
October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
. In 2008, the
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
restituted five works to the heirs of Malevich's family from a group that had been left in Berlin by Malevich, and acquired by the gallery in 1958, in exchange for undisputed title to the remaining pictures. On 3 November 2008, one of these works entitled '' Suprematist Composition'' from 1916, set the world record for any Russian work of art and any work sold at auction for that year, selling at
Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
in New York City for just over US$60 million (surpassing his previous record of US$17 million set in 2000). In May 2018, the same painting '' Suprematist Composition'' 1916 sold at Christie's New York for over US$85 million (including fees), a record auction price for a Russian work of art.


In popular culture

Malevich's life inspires many references featuring events and the paintings as players. The smuggling of Malevich paintings out of Russia is a key to the plot line of writer
Martin Cruz Smith Martin Cruz Smith, born Martin William Smith (November 3, 1942), is an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction, mostly in an international or historical setting. He is best known for his series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko ...
's thriller ''
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 ...
''. Noah Charney's novel, ''The Art Thief'' tells the story of two stolen Malevich ''White on White'' paintings, and discusses the implications of Malevich's radical Suprematist compositions on the art world. British artist Keith Coventry has used Malevich's paintings to make comments on modernism, in particular his Estate Paintings. Malevich's work also is featured prominently in the
Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...
film, ''
Melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...
''. At the Closing Ceremony of the
2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...
in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from  – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
, Malevich visual themes were featured (via projections) in a section on 20th century Russian modern art. In 2015, a local businessman in Konotop,
Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presid ...
, Ukraine commissioned Yurii Vedmid to create a monument of Kazimir Malevich, who lived there from 1894 to 1895. In 2016, it became the communal property of the Konotop community and was relocated to the city square outside the House of Trade.


Selected works

* 1912 – ''Morning in the Country after Snowstorm'' * 1912 – ''The Woodcutter'' * 1912–13 – ''Reaper on Red Background '' * 1914 – ''The Aviator'' * 1914 – ''
An Englishman in Moscow ''An Englishman in Moscow'' (, ), is a 1914 oil on canvas painting by Russian avant-garde artist and art theorist Kazimir Malevich. Description The titular Englishman depicted in the painting is wearing a top hat and an overcoat. The man's face ...
'' * 1914 – ''Soldier of the First Division'' * 1915 – '' Black Square'' * 1915 – ''Red Square'' † * 1915 – ''Black Square and Red Square'' †† * 1915 – '' Suprematist Composition'' * 1915 – ''Suprematism (1915)'' * 1915 – ''Suprematist Painting: Aeroplane Flying'' * 1915 – ''Suprematism: Self-Portrait in Two Dimensions'' * 1915–16 – ''Suprematist Painting (Ludwigshafen)'' * 1916 – ''Suprematist Painting (1916)'' * 1916 – '' Supremus No. 56'' * 1916–17 – ''Suprematism (1916–17)'' * 1917 – ''Suprematist Painting (1917)'' * 1918 – ''
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 ...
'' * 1919–1926 – '' Untitled (Suprematist Composition)'' * 1928–1932 – ''Complex Presentiment: Half-Figure in a Yellow Shirt'' * 1932–1934 – ''Running Man'' † Also known as ''Red Square: Painterly Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions''.
†† Also known as ''Black Square and Red Square: Painterly Realism of a Boy with a Knapsack – Color Masses in the Fourth Dimension''.


Gallery

File:Flowergirl.jpg, ''Flower Girl'', 1903 File:Bathers.jpg, ''Bathers'', 1908 File:Winter Landscape (Malevich, 1930).jpg, ''Winter'', 1909 File:Taking in the Rye Kazimir Malevich 1911.jpeg, ''Taking in the Rye'', 1911 File:Self-Portrait (1908 or 1910-1911).jpg, ''Self-portrait'', 1912 File:Head of a Peasant Girl.jpg, ''Head of a Peasant Girl'', 1912-1913 File:Bureau and Room, by Kazimir Malevich.jpg, ''Bureau and Room'', 1913 File:Cow and Fiddle, by Kazimir Malevich.jpg, ''Cow and Fiddle'', 1913 File:Englishman in Moscow.jpg, ''Englishman in Moscow'', 1914 File:Kazimir Malevich, 1914, Composition with the Mona Lisa, oil, collage and graphite on canvas, 62.5 × 49.3 cm, Russian Museum.jpg, ''Composition with the Mona Lisa'', 1914 File:Black circle.jpg, '' Black Circle'', motive 1915, painted 1924, State Russian Museum,
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, Russia File:Казимир Малевич, Супрематическая композиция, 1915.jpg, ''Suprematist Composition'', painted in 1915 File:Kazimir malevich, quadrato rosso (realismo del pittore di una campagnola in due dimensioni), 1915.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, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg File:Suprematist Composition - Kazimir Malevich.jpg, '' Suprematist Composition'', 1916 File:Malevich-Suprematism..jpg, ''Suprematist Painting: Eight Red Rectangles'', 1915 File:Malevici06.jpg, ''Suprematism'', Museum of Art,
Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...
1916 File:GUGG Untitled (Suprematist Composition, Malevich a).jpg, ''Untitled (Suprematist Composition)'',
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...
, New York City, c. 1919-1926 File:GUGG Untitled (Suprematist Composition, Malevich b).jpg, ''Untitled (Suprematist Composition)'',
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...
, New York City, c. 1919-1926 File:Malevich.black-square.jpg, '' Black Square'', c.1923, State Russian Museum,
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, Russia File:Black Cross.jpg, ''Black Cross'', 1920s, State Russian Museum,
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, Russia File:Malevitj.jpg, ''Suprematism'', 1921-1927,
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
File:Malevich - Boy.jpg, ''Boy'', 1928-1932 File:Malevich cavalry.jpg, '' Red Cavalry'', 1928-1932 File:Malevich Summer Landscape.JPG, ''Summer Landscape'', 1929 File:Malevich142.jpg, ''Mower'', 1930 File:Казимир Малевич — Важке передчуття.jpg, ''Complex Presentiment: Half-Figure in a Yellow Shirt'', 1928-1932


Autobiographies

Malevich wrote two biographical essays, a shorter one in 1923–25, and a much longer account in 1933, representing the artist's explanation of his own evolution up to the appearance of suprematism at the 1915 "0–10" exhibition in Petrograd. Both are published in: * Abridged and revised translations are published in: * The 1923–25 autobiography appears in: * The 1933 autobiography appears in: * *


See also

*
List of Russian artists This is a list of Russian artists. In this context, the term "Russian" covers the Russian Federation, Soviet Union, Russian Empire, Tsardom of Russia and Grand Duchy of Moscow, including ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities living in Rus ...
* Sergei Senkin * Oberiu *
UNOVIS UNOVIS (, also known as MOLPOSNOVIS and POSNOVIS) was a short-lived but influential group of artists, founded and led by Russian painter Kazimir Malevich at the Vitebsk Art School in 1919. Initially formed by students and known as MOLPOSNOVIS, ...


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

* Crone, Rainer, Kazimir Severinovich Malevich and David Moos. ''Kazimir Malevich: The Climax of Disclosure.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. * Dreikausen, Margret, ''Aerial Perception: The Earth as Seen from Aircraft and Spacecraft and Its Influence on Contemporary Art'' (Associated University Presses: Cranbury, NJ;
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England;
Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
: 1985). * Drutt, Matthew; Malevich, Kazimir, ''Kazimir Malevich: suprematism'', Guggenheim Museum, 2003, * Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing. * Malevich, Kasimir, ''The Non-objective World'', Chicago: P. Theobald, 1959. * ''Malevich and his Influence'',
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein The Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (English language, English: ''Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts'') is a state art museum in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The building by the Swiss architects Meinrad Morger, Heinrich Degelo and Christian Kerez was complet ...
, 2008. * Milner, John; Malevich, Kazimir, ''Kazimir Malevich and the art of geometry'',
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 ...
, 1996. * Nakov, Andrei, ''Kasimir Malevich, Catalogue raisonné'', Paris, Adam Biro, 2002 * Nakov, Andrei, vol. IV of ''Kasimir Malevich, le peintre absolu'', Paris, Thalia Édition, 2007 * Néret, Gilles, ''Kazimir Malevich and Suprematism 1878–1935'', Taschen, 2003. * Petrova, Yevgenia, ''Kazimir Malevich in the State Russian Museum''. Palace Editions, 2002. . (English Edition) * Shatskikh, Aleksandra S, and Marian Schwartz, ''Black Square: Malevich and the Origin of Suprematism'', 2012. * Shishanov, V.A. ''
Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art () was an art museum in Vitebsk, Belarus organized in 1918 by Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich and Alexander Romm. In 1921, it exhibited 120 paintings "representing all the movements of the contemporary art from the Aca ...
: a History of Creation and a Collection''. 1918–1941. – Minsk: Medisont, 2007. – 144 p.
Mylivepage.ru
' * * Tedman, Gary. Soviet Avant Garde Aesthetics, chapter from Aesthetics & Alienation. pp 203–229. 2012. Zero Books. * Tolstaya, Tatyana
''The Square''
, ''The New Yorker'', 12 June 2015 * Das weiße Rechteck. Schriften zum Film, herausgegeben von Oksana Bulgakowa. PotemkinPress, Berlin 1997, * ''The White Rectangle. Writings on Film.'' (In English and the Russian original manuscript). Edited by Oksana Bulgakowa. PotemkinPress, Berlin / Francisco 2000,


External links


Malevich works, MoMA

Kazimir Malevich, Guggenheim Collection Online



Floirat, Anetta. 2016, The Scythian element of the Russian primitivism, in music and visual arts
. Based on the work Goncharova, Malevich, Roerich, Stravinsky and Prokofiev
Peter Brooke, ''Deux Peintres Philosophes – Albert Gleizes et Kasimir Malévitch and Quelques Réflexions sur la Littérature Actuelle du Cubisme''
both Ampuis (Association des Amis d'Albert Gleizes) 1995
History of Malevich-designed Perfume bottle of the eau de cologne "''Severny''"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malevich, Kazimir 1879 births 1935 deaths Ukrainian abstract painters Russian abstract painters Artists from Kyiv Ukrainian people of Polish descent Ukrainian abstract painters 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian painters Futurist painters People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Russian male painters Russian modern painters Russian collage artists Polish collage artists Ukrainian collage artists 20th-century Polish painters Polish male painters Russian avant-garde Soviet painters Suprematism (art movement) Ukrainian avant-garde Ukrainian male painters Ukrainian male sculptors Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in the Soviet Union 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni