Painting Black Square by Kazimir Malevich: prophecy or provocation of the 20th century?
Black Square – a painting by Kazimir Malevich is one of the most discussed works of the painter in the circle of art critics. The gloomy quadrangle has a complex interpretation. None of its sides are parallel to the opposite, and the colors are obtained by mixing different colors.
The contrasting combination of a black figure on a white background gives meaning to the image and a certain dynamism. The author invites viewers to leave the limits of traditional perception, take a deeper look at common human problems. Malevich’s conceptual work is the main suprematist element, the zero reference point in art.
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich – Soviet avant-garde artist, theorist and teacher of art disciplines, founder and promoter of the Suprematist style. The artist strove to express the structure of the universe through simple geometric shapes and interweaving of lines.
A feature of his painting technique was the layering of paints to obtain color spots with a deeper additional shade. The Black Square is an example of non-objective creativity, shrouded in intrigue and mysticism of modern civilization.
The basic idea of the design can be understood by taking into account the events of that time: the bourgeois revolution, workers’ uprisings, the outbreak of the First World War. The old values and the usual way of life of the society were in doubt.
The artist challenged the passing era and created, in his opinion, the highest point of art, which returned to its historical origins. The square figure, as a stable stable element, in many cultures denotes the earthly base.
In simple geometry, Kazimir Malevich saw the history of the creativity of all mankind: from rock paintings of primitive people to the masterpieces of the impressionists. There are several author’s variations of the “Black Square”. Four paintings are known: two are in the Tretyakov Gallery, one in the Russian Museum and one more in the Hermitage funds.
