Black Square

painting by Kazimir Malevich

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July 21, 2026

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Black Square is a seminal painting by Kazimir Malevich, created in 1915. It is considered the first work of pure geometric abstraction and the foundational piece of the Suprematist art movement, which Malevich founded in Russia around 1913.

The painting features a black square set against a white background. Malevich intended this stark composition to represent pure feeling, with the black square symbolizing emotion and the white background representing the void beyond it. He aimed to eliminate all objective representation, focusing solely on the essential elements of color, line, and shape. This radical departure from traditional art marked a significant moment in the development of abstract art.

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Suprematism
…his first Suprematist work (Black Square, 1915), he identified the black square with feeling and the white background with expressing “the void beyond this feeling.”
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…his first Suprematist work (Black Square, 1915), he identified the black square with feeling and the white background with expressing “the void beyond this feeling.”
Read More