Malevich, Kasimir << muhl YAY vihch, KAZ uh mihr >> (1878-1935), was a Russian artist who pioneered abstract painting in Russia. Malevich developed a style called suprematism, which reduced painting to its essential elements, such as color, line, and shape.
Malevich’s suprematist paintings consist of one or more geometric forms on a white background. Each form is monochrome (in a single color), usually black or red. In Suprematist Composition: White on White (about 1918), a white square floats in a white background. The square and the background are distinguishable only through slight differences in tint and the direction of the brush strokes. The theory of supremacy is based on Malevich’s belief in “the supremacy of pure feeling” in art.
Malevich was born on Feb. 26, 1878, of Polish parents near Kyiv, Ukraine, which was then controlled by Russia. Malevich created his first suprematist work, a black square on a white background, in 1913. The first exhibition of suprematist works was in 1915. He died on May 15, 1935.
See also Painting (Nonobjective painting in Russia).
