Black Square

Black Square

Black Square (also known as The Black Square or Malevich's Black Square) is an iconic 1915 painting by the Kyiv-born artist Kazimir Malevich. The first version was completed in 1915 and was described by the artist as his breakthrough work and the inception for the launch of his Suprematist art movement (1915–1919). In his manifesto for the Suprematist movement, Malevich said the works were intended as "desperate struggle to free art from the ballast of the objective world" by focusing only on pure form. He sought to paint works that could be understood by all, but at the same time would have an emotional impact comparable to religious works The 1915 painting was the turning point in his career and defines the aesthetic he was to follow for the remainder of his career; his other significant paintings include White on White (1918), Black Circle (c. 1924), and Black Cross (c. 1920–23). Malevich painted by four other versions of the Black Square, each differing in their pattern, texture and color. The original Black Square was debuted at The Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10 in 1915. The last is thought to have been painted during the late 1920s or early 1930s. The 1915 painting is often described as the "zero point of painting", given its groundbreaking, paradoxical monumental and reductive approach, which remains today a huge influence on minimalist art.

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