Born to Polish
parents near Kiev, Russia, Kasimir Malevich would become
one of the founding and most important members of
geometric art. After studying at the Moscow Academy of
Fine Art, Malevich invented the Suprematists style of
painting. He would go on to teach this style in Moscow
and Leningrad at the Vitebsk Popular Art School from
1919-1921 to famous students such as Nikolai Suetin, a
style that incorporated pure, simple geometric forms and
colors. With his students, he formed a group called
Unovis that supported and worked in the Suprematist
ways. Malevich and others often used this style as their
emotional art response to the Russian revolution.
Suprematism
Suprematism 2
Supremus #58
Malevich’s earliest
work was primarily that of a post-Impressionist. From
1904-1910, he worked in the studio of artist Fedor
Rerberg in Moscow. During this time, Malevich would also
be commissioned to create costume and set designs for
Russian opera and stage plays. However, by the early
1910s, Futurism and Cubism had entered his artistic
sphere, which in turn, played a part in his own
geometric style. His theory of suprematism would bring
abstract art to a simple and pure state, and this was
the way he chose to express himself.
Women, 1908
The Road to Expressionism
Soldier of the First Division, 1914
Englishman in Moscow, 1914
While this new style
was extremely popular and Malevich found much success as
a Suprematist painter, at times, his compositions caused
much confusion. Installers would not know which way to
hang his paintings at exhibitions, and because of its
simplicity, some of his earliest work was mis-authenticated.
One of his most famous paintings, “White on White” was
simply white paint on a white canvas, which has been
parodied countless times throughout the years. Another,
simply titled “Black Square”, which was simply a black
square on a white canvas, was also another cause for
confusion and speculation.
White on White, 1918
Black Square
Black Cross, 1915
Even though it was
Suprematism that made Malevich famous, he only painted
in this style for about five years. The rest of his
oeuvre is a conglomeration of the different styles he
worked with throughout time. Malevich continued to work
in this style until the late 1920s when the government
began demanding Social Realism onto the nations artists.
Some of his work became figurative at this time, but he
created and worked less and less. Malevich was even
arrested in 1930 because of his connections to German
artists. Sadly, he was heavily persecuted and much of
his work was destroyed or stolen during this time, and
Malevich never seemed to recover, though he continued to
create art nearly until his death. He died in poverty in
1935, and although he was the forerunner of a highly
influential style of art, remains generally unknown
today. During his lifetime, Malevich’s work was shown
all over Europe, and today is housed worldwide.
