Black Square
Where to see it
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
About the painting
Black Square (Russian: Чёрный квадрат) is a 1915 oil on linen canvas painting by the Russian avant-garde artist and theorist Kazimir 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 art movement (1915–1919).
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In his manifesto for the Suprematist movement, Malevich stated that the paintings were intended as "a desperate struggle to free art from the ballast of the objective world" by focusing solely on form. 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 (1918), Black Circle (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 significantly influenced minimalist art.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Similar works
Image: Kazimir Malevich; Wikimedia Commons · public domain