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Kazimir Malevich. Before and after the Square – Russian Museum

Kazimir Malevich - Suprematism

Kazimir Malevich
Suprematism, 1915

Kazimir Malevich. Before and after the Square Exhibition in the Russian Museum is devoted to the two stages of creative path of Kazimir Malevich – before and after the creation of the ‘Black Square’ painting. 5 December 2013 – middle of February 2014.]]>

Source: Russian Museum

100 years ago in Russia the new trend in art that later received the name of “Suprematism” (“after the highest” in Latin) had been created by Kazimir Malevich. For the first time this idea had found its embodiment in the theatre show. At the beginning of December 1913 in St. Petersburg Luna-Park theatre the Avant-garde Victory Over the Sun opera was presented for the first time. The costumes and decorations for this opera were created according to the sketches by Malevich. In the second act of this show the artists tears the curtain where the sun was presented not red and round as usual, but in the form of black square. In such way the authors (libretto by Alexei Kruchyonikh, music by Mikhail Matushin) showed his attitude to traditional values of art. The Black Square that became the emblem for Malevich had superseded the sun and symbolized the victory of the active human art over the passive form of nature.

In 1915 the Black Square painting was showed as the easel painting. After creation of this work in Russia began the active movement towards one of forms of non-figurative art that had the strong influence also on the world culture. The exhibition in the Russian Museum is devoted to the two stages of creative path of Kazimir Malevich – before and after the creation of the Black Square painting. The Stas Namin Centre (Moscow) will present this opera on the basis of text by Alexei Kruchyonikh, music by Mikhail Matushin. Also there will be presented the costumes for the Victory Over the Sun opera that are made depending on author’s sketches and close to original works. These costumes were created by the students of the St. Petersburg Academy of Applied Arts named after A. Shtigliz under the direction of Olga Kalashnikova.

The Russian Museum owns the greatest in world collection of works by Kazimir Malevich that includes 101 paintings, over 50 graphic works, two architectons and the examples of applied art. The exhibition brings together about 100 works, costumes and also the sketches of costumes and decorations.

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Kazimir Malevich and the Russian Avant-Garde – Stedelijk Museum (exhibition, 2013)

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Kazimir Malevich. Before and after the Square - Russian Museum