Black square picture. Black square

The painting “Black Suprematist Square”, located in Tretyakov Gallery since 1929, hung upside down. Only 86 years later did art historians manage to figure this out. /website/

The controversial painting “Black Square” by Kazemir Malevich has been the subject of controversy among art critics for 100 years. Now she also finds herself at the center of a scandal.

Exploration and discovery

Museum staff examined the painting using X-rays and microscopic analysis and found that there were two other drawings under the image of the square.

So far, researchers cannot determine what is drawn in the first two paintings. It also remains unclear why the artist painted his images on top of each other. Art historians believe that he may not have had a canvas. According to another version, the artist created a black square based on the previous composition, gradually remaking it.

While studying the painting, scientists encountered another discovery. It turns out that there was an inscription on the painting. It turned out to be erased, but with the help of a microscope it was possible to see some of the letters. Art historians are also confident that the handwriting in the painting undoubtedly belongs to Malevich.

Experts have deciphered the inscription allegedly left by Malevich on the “Black Square” https://t.co/dJZELrFqnV

The inscription reads "Battle of the Negroes at Night." “Battle” is read perfectly, in the word “blacks” you can make out two letters in the middle, from “night” only “yu” is clearly readable.

What does controversial art lead to?

When deciphering the inscription, experts were in for another sensation - all this time the “Black Square” was hanging upside down. This is indicated by the location of the inscription.

The mysterious inscription is a reference to the most famous painting by the Frenchman Alphonse Allais, which was called “The Battle of the Negroes in a Cave” late at night" The Frenchman also painted an absolutely white painting “Anemic maidens going to their first communion in a snowstorm” and a red one “Apoplectic cardinals picking tomatoes on the shores of the Red Sea.” Previously, art historians did not directly connect Malevich and Allais.

In total, Malevich wrote four “Black Squares” - the original and three repetitions. The original hangs in the honorary center of the Suprematist hall in the Tretyakov Gallery. At the same time, museum staff noted that the art of the 20th century is visited very poorly. About 4,500 people a day come to this building to look at a completely different artist - Valentin Serov.

The third “square” is also located in the Tretyakov Gallery. The second is exhibited in the Russian Museum, the fourth in the Hermitage. The success of this primitive and unoriginal work is shrouded in mystery. However, for 100 years now the painting has been popular and discussed and is estimated at $20 million.

For the fifth time, Malevich’s “Black Square” has been stolen from the museum! And now for the fifth time the watchman Uncle Vasya manages to restore the painting by morning...

- Anecdote

“Black Square” is the only bright spot in Malevich’s work.

- Vladimir Yakushev

Kazimir Malevich "Black Suprematist Square", 1915.

Approximate cost: two megadollars.

Kazimir Severinovich Malevich(Lash. Kazimierz Malewicz, bulb. Kazimer Malevich, also Kazimier Malevič) is a racial Pole, a believing Catholic, an avant-garde artist, and also, according to the assurances of pedivika, a writer, which gives another reason to remember the fairy tale about the naked king.

The “Black Square” he wrote became something of an icon of supermatism. A lot of parodies were made, all kinds of black triangles and rectangles, white squares on a white background, etc. Many comedians have fun wondering what is depicted in the picture. The most popular one is “blacks steal coal at night.” This is where the alternative name for the masterpiece, “African-American Square,” comes from.

According to one version, the artist was unable to finish work on the painting in required period, so he had to cover up the job black paint. Subsequently, after public recognition, Malevich painted new “Black Squares” on blank canvases. ICHS, the results of fluoroscopy carried out in 2015 confirmed these guesses - two earlier images were discovered under the top layer. К довершению всего, смехуёчки про ниггеров внезапно оказались вещими — найденная под квадратом надпись гласит: «Битва негров в тёмной пещере».

Not everyone knows that there is also a “Red Square” by Malevich, the deep meaning of which is that it is not even a square at all, but a very rectangular trapezoid - this square has two angles - straight, one acute and one obtuse. In addition, in nature, more precisely in the Russian Museum, there is also a Black Circle with a Black Cross, but even fiction knows nothing about them.

The secret of the Black Square of Kazimir Malevich

You don't have to be a great artist to draw a black square and place it on White background. A square is the most elementary geometric figure, black and white are the most elementary colors. Probably anyone can draw this. But here’s a riddle: “Black Square” is the most famous painting in the world. It excites the minds of millions of people, causes heated debate, and attracts a lot of researchers and art lovers. Why is this happening? Until now, the answer to this question has not been found.

Many researchers have tried to unravel the mystery of the Black Square. What conclusions did they come to? There are many of them. Here are the five main ones.

"Black Square" is:

1. A gloomy and absolutely incomprehensible revelation of a brilliant artist.
2. An example of wretchedness, complete hopelessness, despair from one’s mediocrity.
3. An artificially inflated fetish, behind which there is no secret.
4. The act of self-assertion of the satanic principle
5. Jewish symbol.

Unfortunately, none of the researchers went beyond a superficial understanding of the picture. They saw only what lay on the surface of the picture, that is, only a black square.

Kazimir Malevich himself has repeatedly stated that the painting was made by him under the influence of the unconscious, or rather, under the influence of “cosmic consciousness.” Consequently, the picture should be perceived not by consciousness, but by the subconscious. “Black Square” is not just a painting, “Black Square” is a symbol of cosmic consciousness.

All researchers did not take into account the simplest truth, namely the law descriptive geometry, which says this: only a plane can really be displayed on a plane. The painting is a plane, which means that only a flat figure can really be depicted on it: a square. People with underdeveloped imagination see in the “Black Square” only a square, and nothing more. But Malevich made it clear to everyone that this was not just a black square, but a Suprematist black square. That is, when considering this picture, one should go beyond traditional perception, go beyond the visible.

Go beyond the visible, and you will understand that in front of you is not a black square, but a multi-colored cube. This is the secret of the famous painting. Secret meaning, embedded in the “Black Square”, can be briefly 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 three-dimensionally and in all its colors, his life will change dramatically. Millions of people who were instinctively drawn to this painting subconsciously felt the volume and colorfulness of the “Black Square”, but they lacked the imagination to take the last step towards understanding the brilliant canvas.

Let's take this final step together. Look at the picture. There is a black square before your eyes. Flat one-color figure. But maybe this is the front side multi-colored cube? After all, we know that if we look strictly frontally at three-dimensional object, you may get a false impression of its flatness. Shift your point of view. Go beyond the visible. Try to see the top side of the cube with cosmic vision. If you succeed, you will see that the top side is blue. It symbolizes the sky and heights. Now let's look at the underside of the cube. This side is green. Green is the color of spring, nature and youth. If you can see the top and bottom sides of the cube, it will be easier to see the sides. The two sides of the cube are yellow and red. Right side - yellow color, colors of sun and summer. Left-hand side- red, the color of fire, warmth and love. The hardest thing is to see reverse side Cuba. To do this, it is not enough to look a little higher, a little lower, or a little from the side. To do this, we must mentally move to the opposite side. We must change our point of view 180 degrees. If this works, then behind the front black side we will see the back white side. White is the color of wisdom, truth and purity. Black is the color of death, evil and emptiness.

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.

“Black Square” is not a painting in the generally known sense of the word. “Black Square” is an encrypted message from the great philosopher, not the artist, Kazimir Malevich. Having understood the true essence of this message, this formula of harmony, you will be able to take a different look at the world around you. Look at everything from different points of view, and all the beauty of the COLORFUL world will be revealed to you.

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”? Let's try 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 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.

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 finish the painting for the exhibition, or was not happy with the result and rashly covered it up, 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 a certain higher meaning to your "Black Square".

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

Attempts were made repeatedly to examine the canvas to find 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 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”.

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 seeing 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 Dore in 1854, “The Night Fight of the Negroes in the Cellar” by Paul Bealhold in 1882, and completely plagiarized - “The Battle of the 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, and 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" to art in its the usual understanding has almost nothing to do with it. 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 the arrival of Stalin, Malevich held honorary positions and successfully rose to the rank of People's Commissar of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education.

7. “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 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.

8. “Black Square” is a challenge to Orthodoxy

The painting was first presented at the futurist 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 painting as a challenge to Orthodoxy and an anti-Christian gesture. The greatest art critic of the time Alexander Benois wrote: “Undoubtedly, this is the icon that the futurists are putting up to replace the Madonna.”

Exhibition "0.10". St. Petersburg, December 1915.

9. “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 total emptiness, a black hole, death. They say that Malevich, having written "Black Square", for a long time told everyone 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 "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 attributed to 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?

The painting was part of a triptych

The painting was part of a triptych that also included “Black Circle” and “Black Cross”. There were other works by the author at the exhibition (about three dozen), but, of course, they were all lost against the background of the “Black Square”: the scandalous canvas hung in the most prominent place - according to the principle of the “red” corner, where icons were placed in the huts. Naturally, many perceived the picture as a challenge to Orthodoxy and an anti-Christian gesture.

The creation of the “Black Square” was preceded by a period of experiments and searches

The creation of the “Black Square” was preceded by a period of experiments and searches. The Russian avant-garde was torn apart by numerous new artistic movements. Malevich worked simultaneously in cubism, futurism and “abstruse realism” until he reached Suprematism. The latter's method was to look at the earth from the outside. Therefore, in Suprematist paintings, as in outer space, the idea of ​​“top” and “bottom”, “left” and “right” disappears, and independent world, correlated as equal with universal world harmony.

The image of the black square as a symbol first appeared in Matyushin’s opera

The image of the black square as a symbol first appeared in Matyushin’s opera “Victory over the Sun,” for which Malevich created sketches of the scenery and costumes. Then the image meant a plastic expression of the victory of active human creativity over the passive form of nature: a black square appeared instead of a solar circle.

A scene from the production of “Victory over the Sun” - a reconstruction performed by the Stas Namin Theater

Later, for the exhibition “0.10” at the Art Bureau of N. E. Dobychina, Malevich used the image of a black square to create a painting. The artists were given the opportunity to exhibit many works. Malevich’s friend Ivan Puni wrote to him: “I need to write a lot now. The room is very large, and if we, 10 people, paint 25 paintings, then it will only be possible.” Malevich signed 39 canvases, which occupied a separate room.

Of course, as often happens, in addition to official version creating a picture, there are stories. So, Malevich allegedly did not have time to finish the painting for the exhibition, and therefore 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!” Whether this is true or not, we will never know.

By the way, recent research by specialists from the Tretyakov Gallery suggests that under the black square there are colored complexes connected to each other. geometric figures. Having taken an x-ray of the painting, the experts also saw Malevich’s fingerprints on the canvas (which is natural) and three words, two of which were read by museum staff as “Battle of the Negroes...”, the third is difficult to make out. The phrase refers to the famous monochrome painting by Alphonse Allais, “The Battle of Negroes in a Cave in the Dead of Night,” created in 1882, a work that Malevich had never seen.

What was discovered under"Hblack square«

Malevich made several copies of “Black Square”

Subsequently, Malevich made several copies of “Black Square”. Now, in addition to the original of 1915, three more variants are known, differing in design, texture and color. The first copy was made in 1923 for the Venice Biennale (now kept in the Russian Museum), the second - in 1929 for Malevich’s personal exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery.

The third option became the hero mysterious story. It was probably written in 1932, but it was not known then. Information about the painting first appeared in 1993, when a person whose name remains unknown brought the painting to the Samara branch of Inkombank as collateral for a loan. Subsequently, the owner did not claim the canvas, and it became the property of the bank. After the collapse of Inkombank in 1998, Malevich’s painting became the main asset in settlements with creditors. By agreement with the Russian government, “Black Square” was removed from open bidding, acquired by Vladimir Potanin and transferred to the Hermitage.

By the way, there are two more basic Suprematist squares - red and white. The artist argued: “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.”

"Red Square"

Malevich's funeral in 1935 was a performance

Malevich's funeral in 1935 was a kind of performance. At the civil memorial service in Leningrad, a “Black Square” hung at the head of the coffin; the body was covered with white canvas with a black square sewn on it. A “Black Square” was painted on the coffin lid from the side of the head. During the funeral procession along Nevsky Prospekt, the Suprematist sarcophagus was installed on the open platform of a truck with a black square on the hood. On the carriage of the train transporting Malevich's coffin to Moscow, a black square was painted on a white background. At the civil memorial service in the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, the “Black Square” was mounted on a podium among flowers.

Malevich's daughter Una and widow Natalya Andreevna at the artist's grave in Nemchinovka

Malevich bequeathed to bury his ashes surrounded by nature, in open space. The Suprematist coffin was sent by train to Moscow, where Malevich was cremated. His ashes were buried in a field near the village of Nemchinovka. Instead of the monument, a white wooden cube with the image of a black square was installed. To the Great Patriotic War the grave disappeared, and now a residential complex has been built on that site.

Kazimir Malevich throughout his history creative activity went through several stages in different time focusing on various aspects of art. The artist’s vision gradually changed, and the result of these changes was the paintings that best reflect the essence of each period. However, despite this diversity of the artist’s works, the most famous painting Malevich became the painting “Black Square”.

The painting is a small canvas, the width and length of which are 79.5 centimeters. The background is white, with a large black square in the center. Despite the apparent simplicity of creating this painting, Malevich claimed that he worked on it for several months. The painting was painted in 1915 and was shown to the public at the same time.

An exhibition called “Zero-Ten” took place in St. Petersburg in December 1915. Malevich presented there the cycle of paintings “Suprematism of Painting”. The very name of the exhibition had a special meaning associated with the new concept developed by Malevich. New idea consisted of striving towards zero, and then going beyond its limits. In this sense, the painting “Black Square” had special significance. Great importance This painting was emphasized by its location at the exhibition: the work was located where icons are traditionally located in houses, in a place called the “red corner”.

Malevich did not come to the Black Square right away. Harbingers of this work appeared already during the period of work on the opera “Victory over the Sun,” the scenery of which Malevich designed together with like-minded people. One of the decorations was then conceived as a black square instead of the sun. This move was supposed to express the idea of ​​celebration active creativity man over nature.

“Black Square” was just one of the basic Suprematist paintings. Among them were also the paintings “White Square on White”, “Red Square. Picturesque realism of a peasant woman in two dimensions.”

Criticism's reaction to scandalous picture was ambiguous. However, reviews immediately appeared that claimed that “Black Square” was a modern alternative to traditional icons, testifying to the search for a new religion, about some of the chaos of modernity. The artist himself argued that the “Black Square” is a symbol of the completion of art, its peak and at the same time the end. Indeed, the picture depicts a mysterious abyss that seems to draw the viewer in and leaves limitless scope for imagination.

Paintings by Kazimir Malevich -

Experts from the Tretyakov Gallery discovered that Kazimir Malevich’s 1915 painting “Black Square” was painted on a canvas that previously contained two images. In addition, art historians were able to read the author’s inscription on the painting.

“It was known that under the Black Square there was some underlying image. We found out that there are not one, but two such images.

And they proved that the original image is a cubo-futurist composition, and that lying under the “Black Square,” the color of which you see in the craquelure, is a proto-Suprematist composition,” a researcher at the State Tretyakov Gallery’s department of scientific expertise told the Kultura TV channel.

She also reported that, together with her colleagues Irina Rustamova, she managed to decipher the inscription on the “Black Square,” which is considered the author’s.

The inscription reads: “The battle of the blacks in the dark cave.”

This phrase refers to the title of the painting by the French journalist, writer and artist Alphonse Allais, “The Battle of Negroes in a Dark Cave in the Dead of Night,” written in 1882 and representing a completely black rectangle.

“Malevich has a complex, intricate handwriting and some letters are written the same way: “n”, “p” and even “i” in some texts are very close in spelling. We are working on the second word. But you can all see in the exhibition that the first word is “Battle,” Voronina explained.

“Black Square” is the most mythologized work visual arts XX century. His interpretations are innumerable. One thing is certain: the painting is perceived as an aesthetic manifesto of an entire generation of artists and as a symbol of the most important aesthetic era.

Malevich himself answered questions about the meaning and meaning of “Square”, as they say, evasively. He said that he himself did not expect such an effect and did not quite clearly understand what all this could mean.

For some researchers, these words suggested the supernatural, mystical origin picturesque symbol.

However, it is believed that the first image of a black square appeared in Malevich’s sketches for the scenery of the futuristic opera and “Victory over the Sun” in 1913. In 1915, the square was presented in the form of a finished painting along with others geometric works, which, in general, marked the emergence of a new artistic direction- Suprematism.

The works were first published at the futuristic exhibition “0, 10”, which opened in St. Petersburg on December 19, 1915.

Malevich’s Suprematist paintings occupied a separate room there, and “Black Square” hung in the so-called red corner - the place in the room where icons were kept in Russian huts.

The latter circumstance was perceived by many critics and journalists as a challenge and an undermining moral principles. Subsequently, many skeptics tried to explain “Black Square” pragmatically - by the fact that the artist wrote something on the canvas, it didn’t work out, and he painted over the image as it came to his mind at that moment.

This bold hypothesis, however, is contradicted by the fact that Malevich repeatedly made original repetitions of “Square”. Today we know of four repetitions: two are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, one in the Russian Museum, and one more in.

Thus, apparently, the current discovery of art critics from the Tretyakov Gallery is important for the history of Malevich’s masterpiece, but adds absolutely nothing to our understanding or misunderstanding of the painting. Is it straight

The name Alla, of course, has appeared in connection with this before. His four works from 1882-1883, blue, black, white and red rectangles with titles like “First Communion of Anemic Girls in the Snow,” were shown in Untethered Art exhibitions. This was often remembered in connection with Malevich, but it was not entirely clear how the playful French idea related to the monumental Russian symbol of new art. Now, apparently, one can perceive the quest of Russian avant-garde artists, in particular, as a response to French things.