Kazimir Malevich: the Black square

Abstract

Kazimir Malevich's painting "Black Square" (1915) had a decisive influence on the course of artistic developments in the 20th century. On the 100-year anniversary of the work, Irina Vakar has reassessed the evidence base around the painting and caused much excitement among art historians in the process. With art historical findings from X-ray imagery and pigment samples, a new story of its creation and interpretation has emerged. After the publication of the results in Russian, a German and English edition is now available. Malevich's abstract painting is not the sole focus - the book actually covers his complete oeuvre. For example, his theatre experiments, in particular the futuristic opera "Victory Over the Sun" (premiere 1913), are linked to considerations on "Black Square".