Kazimir Malevich painted a black square. The original title of the painting was found under Malevich’s “black square”

21.04.2019

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Is the famous painting by Kazimir Malevich quackery or an encrypted philosophical message?

The famous painting divided not only the artist’s life, but also the history of art into two periods.

On the one hand, you don’t have to be a great artist to draw a black square on a white background. Yes, anyone can do this! But here’s the mystery: “Black Square” is the most famous painting in the world. Already 100 years have passed since it was written, and disputes and heated discussions do not stop.

Why is this happening? What is the true meaning and value of Malevich’s “Black Square”? website tried to figure it out.

1. “Black square” is a dark rectangle

Let's start with the fact that “Black Square” is not black at all and not square at all: none of the sides of the quadrangle is parallel to any of its other sides and to any of the sides of the square frame that frames the picture. A dark color- this is the result of mixing different colors, among which there was no black one. It is believed that this was not the author’s negligence, but a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form.

Kazimir Malevich “Black Suprematist Square”, 1915.

2. “Black Square” is a failed painting

For the futuristic exhibition “0.10”, which opened in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1915, Malevich had to paint several paintings. Time was already running out, and the artist either did not have time to complete the painting for the exhibition, or was not happy with the result and rashly covered it up by painting a black square. At that moment, one of his friends came into the studio and, seeing the painting, shouted: “Brilliant!” After which Malevich decided to take advantage of the opportunity and came up with some higher meaning for his “Black Square”.

Hence the effect of cracked paint on the surface. There is no mysticism, the picture just didn’t work out.

Repeated attempts were made to examine the canvas to find the original version under the top layer. However, scientists, critics and art historians believe that irreparable damage may be caused to the masterpiece, and in every possible way prevent further examinations.

3. “Black square” is a multi-colored cube

Kazimir Malevich has repeatedly stated that the painting was created by him under the influence of the unconscious, a kind of “cosmic consciousness”. Some argue that only the square in the “Black Square” is seen by people with underdeveloped imagination. If, when considering this picture, you go beyond the traditional perception, beyond the visible, you will understand that in front of you is not a black square, but a multi-colored cube.

The secret meaning embedded in the “Black Square” can then be formulated as follows: the world around us, only at the first, superficial glance, looks flat and black and white. If a person perceives the world in volume and in all its colors, his life will change dramatically. Millions of people, who, according to them, were instinctively attracted to this picture, subconsciously felt the volume and multi-colored “Black Square”.

Black color absorbs all other colors, so it is quite difficult to see a multi-colored cube in a black square. And to see the white behind the black, the truth behind the lies, life behind death is many times more difficult. But the one who manages to do this will discover a great philosophical formula.

4. “Black Square” is a riot in art

At the time the painting appeared in Russia, there was a dominance of artists of the Cubist school. Cubism had reached its apogee, all the artists were already quite fed up, and new ones began to appear artistic directions. One of these trends was Malevich’s Suprematism and the “Black Suprematist Square” as its vivid embodiment. The term "suprematism" comes from the Latin suprem, which means “dominance, superiority of color over all other properties of painting.” Suprematist paintings are non-objective painting, an act of “pure creativity”.

At the same time, the “Black Circle” and “Black Cross” were created and exhibited at the same exhibition, representing the three main elements of the Suprematist system. Later, two more Suprematist squares were created - red and white.

"Black Square", "Black Circle" and "Black Cross".

Suprematism became one of the central phenomena of the Russian avant-garde. Many have experienced his influence talented artists. Rumor has it that Picasso lost interest in cubism after he saw Malevich’s “Square”.

5. “Black Square” is an example of brilliant PR

Kazimir Malevich saw through the essence of the future contemporary art: It doesn’t matter what, the main thing is how to present and sell.

Artists have been experimenting with the color “all black” since the 17th century. First tight black work art entitled "The Great Darkness" was painted by Robert Fludd in 1617, followed in 1843 by Bertal and his work "View of La Hougue (under the cover of night)". More than 200 years later. And then almost without interruption - “The Twilight History of Russia” by Gustave Doré in 1854, “Night Fight of Negroes in the Cellar” by Paul Bealhold in 1882, and completely plagiarized - “Battle of Negroes in a Cave in the Dead of Night” by Alphonse Allais. And only in 1915 Kazimir Malevich presented his “Black Suprematist Square” to the public. And it is his painting that is known to everyone, while others are known only to art historians. The extravagant trick made Malevich famous throughout the centuries.

Subsequently, Malevich painted at least 4 versions of his “Black Square”, differing in design, texture and color, in the hope of repeating and increasing the success of the painting.

6. “Black Square” is a political move

Kazimir Malevich was a subtle strategist and skillfully adapted to the changing situation in the country. Numerous “black squares” painted by other artists during Tsarist Russia remained unnoticed. In 1915, Malevich’s “Square” acquired a completely new meaning, relevant to its time: the artist proposed revolutionary art for the benefit of a new people and a new era.
“Square” has almost nothing to do with art in its usual sense. The very fact of its writing is a declaration of the end traditional art. A cultural Bolshevik, Malevich met the new government halfway, and the government believed him. Before Stalin's arrival, Malevich held honorary positions and successfully rose to the rank of people's commissar IZO Narkompros.

7. “Black square” is a refusal of content

The painting marked a clear transition to awareness of the role of formalism in fine arts. Formalism is the rejection of literal content in favor of artistic form. An artist, when painting a picture, thinks not so much in terms of “context” and “content”, but rather in terms of “balance”, “perspective”, “dynamic tension”. What Malevich admitted and his contemporaries did not recognize is factual for contemporary artists and “just a square” for everyone else.

Art has outlived its usefulness, and many critics agree that after “Black Square” nothing outstanding was created. Most artists of the twentieth century lost inspiration, many were in prison, exile or emigration.

“Black Square” is total emptiness, a black hole, death. They say that Malevich, after writing “Black Square,” told everyone for a long time that he could neither eat nor sleep. And he himself doesn’t understand what he did. Subsequently, he wrote 5 volumes of philosophical reflections on the topic of art and existence.

10. “Black Square” is quackery

Charlatans successfully fool the public into believing something that is not actually there. They declare those who do not believe them to be stupid, backward, and uncomprehending dullards who are inaccessible to the lofty and beautiful. This is called the "effect" naked king" Everyone is ashamed to say that this is bullshit, because they will laugh.

And the most primitive design - a square - can be ascribed with any deep meaning; the scope for human imagination is limitless. Not understanding what the great meaning of “Black Square” is, many people find themselves having to invent it for themselves, so that they have something to admire when looking at the picture.

The painting, painted by Malevich in 1915, remains perhaps the most discussed painting in Russian painting. For some, “Black Square” is a rectangular trapezoid, but for others it is a deep philosophical message that is encrypted great artist. In the same way, looking at a piece of sky in a square window, everyone thinks about their own. What were you thinking?

22 August 2013, 16:34

You don't have to be a great artist to draw a black square on a white background. Yes, anyone can do this! But here’s the mystery: “Black Square” is the most famous painting in the world. Almost 100 years have passed since it was written, and disputes and heated discussions do not stop. Why is this happening? What is the true meaning and value of Malevich’s “Black Square”?

"Black square" is a dark rectangle

Malevich's "Black Square" was first presented to the public at a scandalous futurist exhibition in Petrograd in 1915. Among the artist’s other outlandish paintings, with mysterious phrases and numbers, with incomprehensible shapes and a jumble of figures, a black square in a white frame stood out for its simplicity. Initially, the work was called “black rectangle on a white background.” Later the name was changed to "square", despite the fact that, from a geometric point of view, all sides of this figure are of different lengths and the square itself is slightly curved. Despite all these inaccuracies, none of its sides are parallel to the edges of the painting. And the dark color is the result of mixing various colors, among which there was no black. It is believed that this was not the author’s negligence, but a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form.

"Black Square" is a failed painting

For the futuristic exhibition “0.10”, which opened in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1915, Malevich had to paint several paintings. Time was already running out, and the artist either did not have time to complete the painting for the exhibition, or was not satisfied with the result and, in the heat of the moment, covered it up by painting a black square. At that moment, one of his friends came into the studio and, seeing the painting, shouted “Brilliant!” After which Malevich decided to take advantage of the opportunity and came up with some higher meaning for his “Black Square”.

Hence the effect of cracked paint on the surface. There is no mysticism, the picture just didn’t work out.

Repeated attempts were made to examine the canvas to find the original version under the top layer. However, scientists, critics and art historians believed that irreparable damage could be caused to the masterpiece and in every possible way prevented further examinations.

“Black square” is a multi-colored cube

Kazimir Malevich has repeatedly stated that the painting was created by him under the influence of the unconscious, a kind of “cosmic consciousness”. Some argue that only the square in the “Black Square” is seen by people with underdeveloped imagination. If, when considering this picture, you go beyond traditional perception, go beyond the visible, then you will understand that in front of you is not a black square, but a multi-colored cube.

"Black Square" is a riot in art

At the time the painting appeared in Russia, there was a dominance of artists of the Cubist school.

Cubism (fr. Cubisme) is a modernist movement in the visual arts, characterized by the use of emphatically geometrized conventional forms, the desire to “split” real objects into stereometric primitives. Founders and largest representatives which included Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The term “cubism” arose from a criticism of the work of J. Braque that he reduced “cities, houses and figures to geometric patterns and cubes.”

Pablo Picasso, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"

Juan Gris "Man in a Cafe"

Cubism reached its apogee, all the artists were already quite fed up, and new artistic directions began to appear. One of these trends was Malevich’s Suprematism and the “Black Suprematist Square” as its vivid embodiment. The term “suprematism” comes from the Latin suprem, which means dominance, superiority of color over all other properties of painting. Suprematist paintings are non-objective painting, an act of “pure creativity”.

"Black Square", "Black Circle" and "Black Cross"

Suprematism became one of the central phenomena of the Russian avant-garde. Many talented artists experienced his influence. Rumor has it that Picasso lost interest in cubism after seeing Malevich’s “square.”

“Black Square” is an example of brilliant PR

Kazimir Malevich understood the essence of the future of modern art: it doesn’t matter what, the main thing is how to present and sell.

Artists have been experimenting with the color “all black” since the 17th century.

The first is a tightly black work of art called "Great Darkness" wrote Robert Fludd in 1617

He was followed in 1843 by

Bertal and his work " View of La Hougue (under the cover of night)". More than two hundred years later. And then almost without interruption -

"The Twilight History of Russia" by Gustave Doré in 1854, “Night Fight of Negroes in a Cellar” by Paul Bealhold in 1882, a completely plagiarized “Battle of Negroes in a Cave in the Dead of Night” by Alphonse Allais. And only in 1915 Kazimir Malevich presented his “Black Suprematist Square” to the public. And it is his painting that is known to everyone, while others are familiar only to art historians. The extravagant trick made Malevich famous throughout the centuries.

Subsequently, Malevich painted at least four versions of his “Black Square”, differing in design, texture and color, in the hope of repeating and increasing the success of the painting.

"Black Square" is a political move

Kazimir Malevich was a subtle strategist and skillfully adapted to the changing situation in the country. Numerous black squares painted by other artists during Tsarist Russia remained unnoticed. In 1915, Malevich’s square acquired a completely new meaning that was relevant for its time: the artist proposed revolutionary art for the benefit of a new people and a new era.
“Square” has almost nothing to do with art in its usual sense. The very fact of its writing is a declaration of the end of traditional art. A cultural Bolshevik, Malevich met the new government halfway, and the government believed him. Before the arrival of Stalin, Malevich held honorary positions and successfully rose to the rank of People's Commissar of the IZO NARKOMPROS.

"Black Square" is a refusal of content

The painting marked a clear transition to awareness of the role of formalism in the visual arts. Formalism is the rejection of literal content for the sake of artistic form. An artist, when painting a picture, thinks not so much in terms of “context” and “content”, but rather in terms of “balance”, “perspective”, “dynamic tension”. What Malevich recognized and his contemporaries did not recognize is de facto for modern artists and “just a square” for everyone else.

"Black Square" is a challenge to Orthodoxy

The painting was first presented at the futuristic exhibition “0.10” in December 1915. along with 39 other works by Malevich. The “Black Square” hung in the most prominent place, in the so-called “red corner”, where in Russian houses, according to Orthodox traditions hung icons. There art critics “stumbled upon” him. Many perceived the picture as a challenge to Orthodoxy and an anti-Christian gesture. Largest art critic At that time, Alexander Benois wrote: “Undoubtedly, this is the icon that the Futurists are putting up to replace the Madonna.”

Exhibition "0.10". Petersburg. December 1915

“Black Square” is a crisis of ideas in art

Malevich is called almost the guru of modern art and is accused of death traditional culture. Today, any daredevil can call himself an artist and declare that his “works” have the highest artistic value.

Art has outlived its usefulness and many critics agree that after “Black Square” nothing outstanding was created. Most artists of the twentieth century lost inspiration, many were in prison, exile or emigration.

"Black Square" is quackery

Charlatans successfully fool the public into believing something that is not actually there. They declare those who do not believe them to be stupid, backward, and uncomprehending dullards who are inaccessible to the lofty and beautiful. This is called the "naked king effect." Everyone is ashamed to say that this is bullshit, because they will laugh.

And the most primitive design - a square - can be ascribed with any deep meaning; the scope for human imagination is simply limitless. Not understanding what the great meaning of “Black Square” is, many people need to invent it for themselves so that they have something to admire when looking at the picture.

Alternative opinions worthy of attention (from various sources):

- "The simplest and most essential idea of this work, its compositional and theoretical meaning. Malevich was a famous theorist and teacher of composition theory. The square is the simplest shape for visual perception- a figure with equal sides, therefore, it is from here that aspiring artists begin to take steps. When they are given the first tasks in the theory of composition, on horizontal and vertical rhythms. gradually complicating tasks and shapes - rectangle, circle, polygons. Thus, the square is the basis of everything, and black, because nothing more can be added. "(WITH)

- Some comrades claim that this is a pixel(jokingly, of course). Pixel (English pixel - short for pix element, in some sources picture cell) - smallest element two-dimensional digital image in raster graphics. That is, any drawings and any inscriptions that we see on the screen when enlarged consist of pixels, and Malevich was something of a seer.

- Personal "epiphany" of the artist.

The beginning of the 20th century marked an era of great upheavals, a turning point in people's worldview and their attitude to reality. The world was in a state when the old ideals of beautiful classical art had completely faded and there was no return to them, and the birth of a new one was predicted by great revolutions in painting. There was a movement from realism and impressionism, as the transfer of sensations, to abstract painting. those. First, humanity depicts objects, then sensations and, finally, ideas.

Malevich's black square turned out to be a timely fruit of the artist's insight, who managed to create the foundations of the future language of art with this simplest geometric figure, which conceals many other forms. By rotating the square in a circle, Malevich obtained the geometric figures of a cross and a circle. When rotating along the axis of symmetry, I got a cylinder. A seemingly flat, elementary square contains not only other geometric shapes, but can create three-dimensional bodies. A black square, dressed in a white frame, is nothing more than the fruit of the creator’s insight and his thoughts about the future of art... (C)

- This picture, undoubtedly, is and will be a mysterious, attractive, always living and pulsating object of human attention. She is valuable for what she has huge amount degrees of freedom, where Malevich’s own theory is a special case of explaining this picture. It has such qualities, is filled with such energy, that it makes it possible to explain and interpret it an infinite number of times at any intellectual level. And most importantly, to provoke people to creativity. A huge number of books, articles, etc. have been written about the “Black Square”, many paintings have been created inspired by this thing, the more time passes from the day it was written, the more we need this riddle, which does not have a solution or, conversely, has an infinite number of them .
__________________________________________________

p.s. If you look closely, you can see other tones and colors through the craquelure of the paint. It is quite possible that there was a painting underneath this dark mass, but all attempts to illuminate this painting with something were unsuccessful. The only thing that is certain is that there are some figures or patterns, a long stripe, something very fuzzy. Which may well not be the painting underneath the painting, but simply the bottom layer of the square itself, and the patterns could have been formed during the drawing process :)

Which idea is closest to you?

January 25th, 2014

Marek Raczkowski.

Of course, everyone knows this, but I’ll probably collect everything in one place. It is quite possible that you will discover something new in this topic.

In 1882 (33 years before Malevich’s “Black Square”), at the “Exposition des Arts Incohérents” exhibition in Paris, the poet Paul Bilo presented the painting “Combat de nègres dans un tunnel” (“Battle of Negroes in a Tunnel”). True, it was not a square, but a rectangle.

The French journalist, writer and eccentric humorist Alphonse Allais liked the idea so much that he developed it further in 1893, calling his black rectangle “Combat de nègres dans une cave, pendant la nuit” (“Battle of the Negroes in a Cave in the Dead of Night”). The painting was first exhibited at the exhibition “Untethered Art” at the Vivien Gallery.

This masterpiece looked like this:

More to come. Both the white and red squares were also first depicted by Allais Alphonse. “White Square” was called “The First Communion of Unfeeling Girls in the Snow” (also performed in 1883). This masterpiece looked like this:

Six months later, Alphonse Allais's next painting was perceived as a kind of “coloristic explosion.” The rectangular landscape “Harvesting tomatoes on the shores of the Red Sea by apoplectic cardinals” was a bright red monochrome painting without the slightest sign of an image (1894).

Alle Alphonse's paintings were perceived as pure banter and shocking - in fact, this is the only idea their names suggest to us. Apparently this is why we know so little about this artist.

Thus, twenty years before the Suprematist revelations of Kazimir Malevich, the venerable artist Alphonse Allais became the “unknown author” of the first abstract paintings. Alphonse Allais also became famous for the fact that almost seventy years later he unexpectedly anticipated the famous minimalist musical piece “4′33″” by John Cage, which is four and a half “minutes of silence”. Perhaps the only difference between Alphonse Allais and his followers was that, while exhibiting his stunningly innovative works, he did not at all try to look like a significant philosopher or a serious pioneer.

Who is he? Alphonse Hallais (October 20, 1854, Honfleur (Calvados department) - October 28, 1905, Paris) - French journalist, eccentric writer and dark humorist, known for his sharp tongue and dark absurdist antics, which anticipated the famous shocking exhibitions of the Dadaists and surrealists of the 1910s by a quarter of a century. x and 1920s.

Alphonse Allais was an eccentric writer, an eccentric artist and an eccentric person almost all his life. He was eccentric not only in his aphorisms, fairy tales, poems or paintings, but also in his everyday behavior.

Having quickly completed his studies and having received the title of bachelor by the age of seventeen, Alphonse Allais (as an assistant or trainee) entered his own father’s pharmacy.

Alphonse's father, with great pride, outlined for him a career as a great chemist or pharmacist. The future will show: Alphonse Allais brilliantly lived up to the hopes of his pharmacy father. He became more than a chemist and more than a pharmacist. However, even the very beginning of his activity in the family pharmacy has already turned out to be very promising. As a debut, Alphonse conducted several bold experiments on influencing patients with a high-quality placebo of his original recipe, synthesized original counterfeit drugs, and also made several unusually interesting diagnoses with his own hands. He will be happy to talk about his first small pharmacy triumphs a little later, in his fairy tale: “The Heights of Darwinism.”

“...I also found something for a lady who suffered severely from stomach pain:

Lady: - I don’t know what’s wrong with me, first the food rises to the top, and then goes down...

Alphonse: - I beg your pardon, madam, did you accidentally swallow the elevator?

(Alphonse Allais, “I laughed!”)

Having seen the very first successes of his son in the field of pharmaceuticals, his father gladly sent him from Honfleur to Paris, where Alphonse Allais spent the rest of his life.

His father sent him to do an internship at the pharmacy of one of his close friends. On closer examination, a few years later this pharmacy turned out to be the privileged Masonic cabaret “Black Cat”, where Alphonse Allais continued to compose his recipes and heal the sick with great success. He was engaged in this respected business almost until the end of his life. His friendship with Charles Cros (the famous inventor of the phonograph) should have brought him back to scientific research, but these plans again were not destined to come true. Fundamental scientific works Alphonse Allais's works represent contributions to science, although today they are much less famous than himself. Alphonse Allais managed to publish his most serious research on color photography, as well as extensive work on the synthesis of rubber (and rubber stretching). In addition, he received a patent for own recipe making freeze-dried coffee.

At the age of 41, Alphonse Allais married Marguerite Allais in 1895.

He died in one of the rooms of the Britannia Hotel, where Alphonse Allais spent a lot of his free time. The day before, the doctor had strictly prescribed him to stay in bed for six months, only then would recovery be possible. Otherwise - death. “Funny people, these doctors! They seriously think that death is worse than six months in bed! As soon as the doctor disappeared through the door, Alphonse Allais quickly got ready and spent the evening in a restaurant, and to the friend who accompanied him back to the hotel, he told his last anecdote:

“Keep in mind, tomorrow I will already be a corpse! You will find it witty, but I will no longer laugh with you. Now you will be left laughing - without me. So tomorrow I'll be dead! In full accordance with its last funny joke, he died the next day, October 28, 1905.

Alphonse Allais was buried in the Saint-Ouen cemetery in Paris. 39 years later, in April 1944, his grave was wiped off the face of the earth and disappeared without the slightest trace under the friendly bombs of the French liberation army of Charles de Gaulle. In 2005, the imaginary remains of Alphonse Allais were ceremonially (with great pomp) transferred to the “top” of the Montmartre hill.

After World War II, the political Association of Absolute Apologists of Alphonse Allais (abbreviated as A.A.A.A.A.) was organized in France and is still active. This close-knit group of fanatical people represents public body, in which Alphonse’s humor is valued above all other delights of life. AAAA, among other things, has its legal address, bank account and headquarters in the “Smallest Museum of Alphonse Allais” on the Upper Street of Honfleur (Calvados, Normandy, Pharmacy).

Every Saturday in the late afternoon, the Alphonse Museum is open to everyone for free. Visitors can enjoy laboratory experiments “a la Halle”, chemical tastings “a la Halle”, diagnoses “a la Halle”, inexpensive (but very effective) stomach pills “pur Alle” and even a direct conversation on the old telephone “Allo” "Alla." All of these services can be obtained in just half an hour in the gloomy backstage of the Honfleur pharmacy, where Alphonse Allais was born. This extremely cramped space has also been declared the smallest museum in the world, not excluding the world's smallest museum, the "authentic room" of Alphonse Allais in Paris, and the smallest museum, "Eric Satie's Closet" in the French Ministry of Culture. These three smallest museums in the world are vying for the title of who is the smallest. Permanent tour guide Alla for many years there is a certain man, Jean-Yves Loriot, who constantly carries with him an official document confirming that he is the illegal reincarnation of the great humorist Alphonse Allais.

Alphonse Allais broke with pharmacies and began publishing regularly a very long time ago, it seems that it was in 1880-82. Alphonse's first careless story marked the beginning of his 25-year writing life. He did not tolerate order in anything and directly stated, “Don’t even hope for it, I am dishonest.” I wrote in a cafe, in fits and starts, almost didn’t work on books, and it looked something like this: “Don’t talk nonsense... for me to sit without taking my ass off and pored over a book? - this is incredibly funny! No, I’d rather tear it off anyway!”

Mostly him literary creativity consists of stories and fairy tales, which he wrote on average two or three times a week. Having the “heavy duty” of writing a ridiculous column, and sometimes even an entire column in a magazine or newspaper, he inevitably had to “laugh for money” almost every other day. During his life he changed seven newspapers, some of them in succession, and three at the same time.

Thus, first of all, a living eccentric, then a bit of a journalist and editor, and only lastly a writer, Alle worked forever in a hurry, wrote dozens of his “fairy tales”, hundreds of short stories and thousands of articles on his left knee, in a hurry and, most often, at a table (or under a table) in a cafe. Therefore, much of his work was lost, even more lost its value, but most of all - it remained on the tip of the tongue - unwritten.

Alphonse Allais never settled on just one thing. He wanted to write everything at once, to cover everything, to succeed at everything, but at nothing in particular. Even clean literary genres he always gets confused, falls apart and replaces one another. Under the guise of articles, he wrote stories, under the name of fairy tales - he described his acquaintances, instead of poetry he wrote puns, said “fables” - but he meant black humor, and even scientific inventions in his hands took on a cruel form of satire on human science and human nature ...

In addition to studying literature “under a table in a cafe,” Alphonse Allais had many more important responsibilities for society in his life.

In particular, he was a member of the board of the Honorary Hydropaths Club, as well as one of the main participants accepted into the governing bodies of the Black Cat Masonic cabaret. It was there, at the Vivien Gallery, during the “Untethered Art” exhibitions, that he first exhibited his famous monochrome paintings.

Perhaps the only difference between Alphonse Allais and his followers was that, while exhibiting his stunningly innovative works, he did not at all try to look like a significant philosopher or a serious pioneer. This is, perhaps, what led to the lack of professional recognition of his contribution to the history of art. With his works in the field of painting, Alphonse Allais very accurately explained a thesis as old as time: “It’s not so important what you do, it’s much more important how you present it.”

In 1897, he composed and “performed” the “Funeral March for the Funeral of the Great Deaf Man,” which, however, did not contain a single note. Only silence, as a sign of respect for death and understanding of the important principle that great sorrows are silent. They do not tolerate any fuss or sounds. It goes without saying that the score for this march was a blank page of music paper.

“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”

“...Money makes even poverty easier to bear, isn’t it?”

“The hardest thing to get through is the end of the month, especially the last thirty days.”

“While we are wondering how best to kill time, time is methodically killing us.”

“Moving away is quite a bit of dying. But to die is to drive away a lot!”

“...As the widow of a man who died after a consultation said three best doctors of Paris: “But what could he do alone, sick, against three healthy ones?”

“...We need to be more tolerant of man, but let’s not forget about the primitive era in which he was created.”

(Alphonse Allais, “Things”)

What about Malevich's square?

Kazimir Malevich wrote his “Black Square” in 1915. This canvas measures 79.5 by 79.5 centimeters, which depicts a black square on a white background, painted with a thin brush. According to the artist, he wrote it for several months.

Black Square 1915 Malevich,

Reference:

Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was born (11) February 23, 1878 near Kyiv. However, there is other information about the place and time of his birth. Malevich's parents were Poles by origin. His father worked as a manager at the sugar factory of the famous Ukrainian industrialist Tereshchenko (according to other sources, Malevich’s father was a Belarusian ethnographer and folklorist). Mother was a housewife. The Malevich couple had fourteen children, but only nine of them lived to adulthood. Kazimir was the first-born in the family.

He began to learn to draw on his own after his mother gave him a set of paints at the age of 15. At the age of 17 he spent some time in Kievskaya art school. In 1896, the Malevich family settled in Kursk. There Kazimir worked as a minor official, but quit his service to pursue a career as an artist. Malevich's first works were written in the style of impressionism. Later, the artist became one of the active participants in futuristic exhibitions.

To us, K. Malevich’s life seems incredibly rich, full of contrasts, ups and downs. But in the opinion of the master himself, it was not too long and eventful, as he dreamed. For a long time, Malevich dreamed of visiting Paris, but he never managed to do it. He visited abroad only in Warsaw and Berlin. Malevich did not know foreign languages, which he greatly regretted throughout his life. He did not travel further than Zhitomir. He was unable to experience many of the aesthetic and everyday joys available to his wealthier and more educated colleagues.

"On the Boulevard", 1903

"Flower Girl", 1903

"The Grinder" 1912

Malevich independently went all the way from a modest self-taught artist to a world-famous artist, he took part in two revolutions, wrote futuristic poems, reformed the theater, spoke at scandalous debates, was fond of theosophy and astronomy, taught, wrote philosophical works, was in prison, was the director of a reputable Institute and the unemployed... Punin wrote that Malevich belonged to those people who were “charged with dynamite.” Not every one of them famous artists could so polarize public opinion. Malevich was always surrounded by devoted friends and passionate rivals; he provoked the harshest abuse from critics, “his students idolized him like Napoleon’s army.” Even in our time, you can meet people who have a sharply opposite attitude towards both Malevich’s legacy and his personal human qualities.

The whole meaning of Malevich’s life was art. Malevich brought the explosive energy characteristic of his character into his work. His evolution as a painter truly resembles a series of explosions and catastrophes. They were not particularly spontaneous; the researchers said that it was a “testing ground” where the art of painting tested and honed its new capabilities.” Based on this, one can determine the trends in the history of art at the beginning of the 20th century. Malevich was an outstanding artist, who contributed to the development of art of that time.

Malevich’s “Square” was written for an exhibition held in a huge hall. According to one version, the artist was unable to complete the painting on time, so he had to cover the work with black paint. Subsequently, after public recognition, Malevich painted new “Black Squares” on blank canvases. Attempts to examine the canvas to find the original version under the top layer were made repeatedly. However, scientists and critics believed that irreparable damage could be caused to the masterpiece.

Wikipedia tells us that Malevich actually has not one Black Square, but four:

*Currently there are four “Black Squares” in Russia: in Moscow and St. Petersburg there are two “Squares” each: two in Tretyakov Gallery, one in the Russian Museum and one in the Hermitage. One of the works belongs to Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin, who purchased it from Inkombank in 2002 for $1 million (about 28 million rubles) and transferred it to the Hermitage for indefinite storage.

Black Square 1923 Malevich, Wikipedia

Black Square 1929 Malevich, Wikipedia

Black square 1930s Malevich, Wikipedia

Malevich has a Red Square and a White Square, and much more. But worldwide fame For some reason I conquered this particular Black Square. However, not only is it not a square drawn in Malevich’s painting (the corners are not right!), but it is also not completely black (at least the file with the painting contains about 18,000 colors),

Wise art critics write:

The conceptual content of “Black Square” is, first of all, to bring the viewer’s consciousness into the space of another dimension, to that single Suprematist plane, both economic and economic. In this space of a different dimension, three main directions can be distinguished - supremacy, economy and economy. The form itself in Suprematism, due to its non-objectivity, does not depict anything. On the contrary, it destroys things and acquires meaning as a primary element, completely subordinated to the economic principle, which in symbolic expression is “zero forms”, “black square”.

Again, considering that black, objectified and expressed in the form of a “black square,” is inextricably linked with a white background and without it, the manifestation of color always remains incomplete and dull. This reveals another, no less significant formula for the “black square” as a symbol: “Black square” is an expression of the unity of opposite colors. In this most generalized formula, black and white can be expressed as light and non-light, as two attributes of the Absolute, existing both inseparably and unmerged. That is, they exist as one, one - thanks to which one is on the other, and here it is. Look at more works The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

I am not an art critic, unfortunately, but recently I had the opportunity to show off my erudition about the famous painting by Kazimir Malevich “Black Square”. It turns out that not everyone knows that there are several such squares, including not only black ones :) and that in addition to the square there are also Malevich’s circle and cross.

But let's take things in order. So, “Black Square” was created by the artist in 1915. The idea of creating this masterpiece was born while Malevich was working on the sets for the futuristic opera “Victory over the Sun.” (The characters of the opera, defeating the merciless scorching Sun, cover it with a black square, symbolizing the power of human reason, logic, analysis. The light border on the sides of the square is the breaking through rays of the sun.)

The original name of the “Black Square”, under which it was listed in the catalog, was “Quadrangle”. Not having strictly right angles, from the point of view of pure geometry it really was a quadrangle; this was a principled position, the desire to create a dynamic, mobile form. . The imaginary movement of a black square is its rotation in space, or the rearrangement of black and white gave birth to new Suprematist forms. The “Black Circle” and “Black Cross” were created simultaneously with the “Black Square” and, together with the square, formed the main block of the Suprematist system.

Suprematism (from Latin supremus - highest) - a movement in avant-garde art founded in the 1st half of the 1910s. K.S. Malevich. Being a type of abstract art, Suprematism was expressed in combinations of multi-colored planes of the simplest geometric shapes (in the geometric shapes of a straight line, square, circle and rectangle). Combination of different colors and sizes geometric shapes forms balanced asymmetrical suprematist compositions permeated with internal movement. (Wikipedia)

Subsequently Malevich, with different purpose, performed several original repetitions of the “Black Square”. There are now four known versions of the “Black Square”, differing in design, texture and color.

The first painting “Black Square”, from which the author’s repetitions were subsequently made, is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. The painting is a canvas measuring 79.5 by 79.5 centimeters, which depicts a black square on a white background.

The second “Black Square” became part of a triptych (along with it duplicates of “Circle” and “Cross” were created), executed around 1923 to be exhibited at the Venice Biennale. The dimensions of the second version are 106 by 106 cm. All parts of the 1923 triptych differed from the 1915 original in both size and proportions; these were completely new “Square”, “Circle” and “Cross”.
In March 1936, along with other 80 paintings by Malevich, these three works were transferred by his wife, N. A. Malevich, to the Russian Museum.

The third version was written in 1929 and is the author’s exact repetition of the main work - the first “Black Square” (also measuring 79.5 by 79.5 cm) for his personal exhibition, which was being prepared at the Tretyakov Gallery. “According to legend, this was done at the request of the then deputy director of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Alexei Fedorov-Davydov, due to the poor condition of the “Black Square” of 1915 (craquelure appeared in the picture). The artist painted it directly in the halls of the museum; and during the work I allowed myself minor changes in proportions so that the paintings did not look like absolute twins.”

The fourth version could have been written in 1932, its size is 53.5 by 53.5 cm. It became known much later, in 1993, when an unknown person brought it to the Samara branch of Inkombank as collateral for a loan. Subsequently, the painting became the property of the bank. After the collapse of Inkombank in 1998, Malevich’s painting became the main asset in settlements with creditors. In 2002, by agreement with the Russian government, the “Black Square” was removed from public auction and was purchased for $1 million by businessman Vladimir Potanin, with the aim of transferring it for permanent storage to the Hermitage.

There are two more basic Suprematist squares - red and white.
"Red Square" was written in 1915. The title on the back is “A Woman in Two Dimensions.” It is a red quadrangle on a white background, slightly different in shape from a square.

This is such a two-dimensional woman of Malevich :)))

The painting “White Square on White” became a manifestation of the “white” period of Suprematism, which began in 1918 (“Suprematist composition” - “White on White”).

The red and white squares were part of the artistic and philosophical triad defined by Malevich. The artist stated: “The Suprematist three squares are the establishment of certain worldviews and world-building... black as a sign of economy, red as a signal of revolution, and white as pure action.”

“Black Square” by Kazimir Malevich is an icon of the Russian avant-garde, one of the most famous paintings Russian painting. The painting and its author gained worldwide fame due to the deep meaning the artist put into the painting.

The meaning of Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square” is inseparable from its creation. The painting was painted by Malevich on June 21, 1915 - that was the time of peak development of the avant-garde in Russian painting, the time historical revolutions, collectively speaking - time big changes in all areas of life.

In 1914-1915, one of the main movements in Russian abstract art and the term that defines it appeared - “suprematism” (from the Latin supremus - highest). The ideological inspirer, the main theorist and the brightest representative of Suprematism was K. Malevich, who united his followers in art society"Supremus" to spread the ideas of Suprematism. The key to understanding Malevich’s method is his theoretical work “From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism” (1916), in which he substantiated his belief that actual transfer physical world and drawing from life are “characteristic of savages.” According to Malevich's idea, Suprematism became the highest degree of development of art due to the emphasis on the non-objective as the essence of any type of art. A true creator must abandon the imitation of reality and intuitively discover the true reality contained in simple geometric forms - the basis of all things. Suprematism in its content was a geometric abstraction and therefore was expressed in combinations of the simplest geometric figures, devoid of pictorial meaning, painted in different tones. Having abandoned figurative creativity, Suprematist artists also abandoned “earthly” reference points: in their paintings there is no idea of “up” and “down,” “left” and “right” - as in space, all directions are equal. Their aesthetic ideas artists expressed themselves through compositions in which the construction of form did not imply the need for color and figure: the knowledge of color and form occurred through the sensations not so much of the artist as of the one looking at the picture. Feeling the energy of objects and images, the Suprematist artist worked with form and color within the framework of the laws of economy, which in his work became the fifth irrational dimension. The quintessence of such economy was Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square”.

“Black Square” (1915) Kazimir Malevich

Malevich unveiled the concept of Suprematism at the “Last Futurist Exhibition 0.10” in St. Petersburg (1915). At this exhibition, the artist presented 39 of his canvases depicting human figures in simple geometric shapes. Among the paintings was the famous triptych, on which, in fact, the entire system of Suprematism was based: “Black Square”, “Black Cross” and “Black Circle”. Of this triptych, only the “Black Square” became famous famous work world avant-garde. It is quite possible that attention to the painting was attracted by Malevich’s discouraging statement that with this work he completely completed the history of the development of world painting. The artist himself considered the square to be the primary figure, the basic element of the world and existence. Even the monument to the artist, according to his will, was made in the form of a square—a copy of his famous painting. “The square,” wrote Malevich, “is the creativity of the intuitive mind. The square is alive, a royal baby.” The artist called the “Black Square” an icon and at the exhibition he placed the painting high in the corner, just like icons are hung.

Exhibition "0, 10". St. Petersburg, December 1915

The “black square” has neither top nor bottom. Deviations from pure geometry indicate that the artist painted the square “by eye”, without resorting to a compass and ruler. The painting was the final result of numerous experiments, as evidenced by the color compositions that appeared over time in the cracks of the black surface. Now the legendary “Black Square” is located in the State Tretyakov Gallery. Malevich himself divided his Supremastic creativity into three periods according to the number of squares—black (“black period”), red (“color period”) and white (“white period,” when white forms are painted in white). The works had complex, detailed titles. Thus, “Red Square” was originally called “ Scenic realism peasant women in 2 dimensions." Looking for something new artistic language Malevich was ahead of his time. A theorist and practitioner of art, he became an iconic figure for the 20th century, a symbol of the Russian avant-garde. K. Malevich stood at the origins of new art, most vividly embodying the searches and paradoxes of his time. Having gone beyond Russia, Suprematism had a noticeable influence on the entire world artistic culture. Like no other direction of the avant-garde, Suprematism extended its system to all types artistic creativity: textile and porcelain painting, book graphics, design and even holiday decorations.