Black Square: a mockery of art or a brilliant masterpiece of the Russian avant-garde?

"Black Square" by Kazimir Malevich is the most mysterious and debated painting of the 20th
century, becoming a symbol of the Russian avant-garde. Art historians around the world still cannot reach a single opinion about the true meaning of the canvas. Is a sacred meaning of human existence encoded in the painting? Or is it a manifesto, a mockery of traditional and academic art? And can the "Black Square" be considered art at all? These questions remain open.

Kazimir Malevich was a Russian artist of Polish origin. He was an excellent teacher and was involved in theater and architecture. He worked at the intersection of several artistic movements:
he was interested in Impressionism, Cubism, Futurism, and Cézannism. Ultimately Malevich invented his own artistic direction and became a true revolutionary in painting.

The idea to create the painting came to Malevich in 1913 while working on the sets for the futurist opera "Victory over the Sun". In one of the acts the artist had to literally depict the victory over the sun. It is believed that it was then the artist "saw" the image of a black square absorbing the light. The "Black Square" was created two years later, in 1915.

The painting was first presented in December 1915 at the "0,10" exhibition. The "Black Square" took its place in the "red corner" — the spot where Orthodox icons are traditionally placed. The artist did this to announce his leadership and the birth of a new artistic genre — Suprematism. Malevich himself spoke of his painting as of all phenomena of the world reduced to zero, calling it "the icon of my time." Art critic Alexander Benois was one of the first to compare the "Black Square" to an icon.

Notably, technically the square is a quadrilateral; its sides are not parallel to each other. And the color consists of three different shades with added chalk. It is believed that with this mixture the artist wanted to give the image a matte quality
and create the effect of impenetrable darkness.

Another interesting fact: there are actually four "Black Squares." The first square is covered with craquelure, has cracks on its surface, and is exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery. A copy of this square, created in 1929, is also kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. There also exists the triptych "Black Square. Black Circle. Black Cross." In the early 1930s another "Black Square" was created, which was found in 1993 and acquired by the State Hermitage.

Государственная Третьяковская галерея

Государственная Третьяковская галерея – один из наиболее крупных художественных музеев в мире. В 1851 году московский купец Павел Третьяков купил здание на Лаврушинском переулке и через пять лет там о ...

г. Москва, Лаврушинский пер., д 10