
Jean Cocteau
Untitled
ca. 1920
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Kazimir Malevich
ca. 1916
Kazimir Malevich proposed the abstract style of Suprematism as an alternative to earlier art forms, which he considered inappropriate to his own time. He proposed a self-referential art in which proportion, scale, color, and disposition obey intrinsic, nonutilitarian laws, and considered his non-objective forms to be reproductions of purely affective sensations that bore no relation to external phenomena. Malevich’s units are developed from the straight line and its two-dimensional extension, the plane, and are constituted of contrasting areas of unmodeled color, distinguished by various textural effects. The diagonal orientation of geometric forms creates rhythms on the surface of the canvas. The overlapping of elements and their varying scale relationships within a white ground provide a sense of indefinitely extensive space. A magnetic attraction and repulsion seem to dictate the slow rotational movement of parts.
On view
Artist | Kazimir Malevich |
Date | ca. 1916 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 53 x 53 cm |
Credit line | Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York) Acquisition confirmed in 2009 by agreement with the Heirs of Kazimir Malevich |
Accession | 76.2553 PG 42 |
Collection | Peggy Guggenheim Collection |
Type | Painting |
Copy caption
On view
Jean Cocteau
ca. 1920
Chuck Close
2003
Laurence Vail
n.d.
On view
Bernd and Hilla Becher
1988
On view