Unlike Black Square, Malevich’s White Square is a lesser-known picture in Russia. However, it is no less mysterious and also causes a lot of controversy among experts in the field of pictorial art. The second name of this work by Kazimir Malevich is “White on White”. It was written in 1918 and refers to the direction of painting, which Malevich called Suprematism.
A bit about Suprematism
It is advisable to start the story about Malevich’s painting “White Square” with a few words about Suprematism. This term comes from the Latin supremus, which means "the highest." This is one of the directions in avant-garde, the occurrence of which dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.
It is a kind of abstractionism and is expressed in the image of various combinations of multi-colored planes, which are the simplest geometric outlines. This is a straight line, square, circle, rectangle. Using their combination, balanced asymmetric compositions are formed, which are permeated by internal movement. They are called Suprematist.
At the first stage, the term "Suprematism" meant superiority, the dominance of color over other properties of the painting. According to Malevich, paint in non-objective canvases was first relieved of its supporting role. Paintings written in this style were the first step towards “pure creativity”, equalizing the creative powers of man and nature.
Next, we turn to the works of Kazimir Malevich himself.
Three paintings
It should be noted that the picture we are studying has another, third name - “White Square on a White Background”, Malevich wrote it in 1918. After two other squares were written - black and red. The author himself wrote about them in his book Suprematism. 34 drawings. " He said that three squares are associated with the establishment of certain worldviews and peacebuildings:
- black is a sign of economy;
- red indicates a signal for revolution;
- white is seen as a pure action.
According to the artist, the white square gave him the opportunity to study "pure action". Other squares indicate the path, white carries a white world. He affirms the sign of purity in the creative life of man.
According to these words, one can judge what the white square of Malevich means, according to the author himself. Next, the points of view of other specialists will be examined.
Two shades of white
Let us turn to the description of the painting by Kazimir Malevich “White on White”. When writing it, the artist used two shades of white, close to each other. The background has a slightly warm shade, with some ocher. At the heart of the square itself is a cold bluish tint. The square is slightly upside down and is located closer to the upper right corner. This arrangement creates the illusion of movement.
In fact, the quadrangle shown in the picture is not a square - it is a rectangle. There is evidence that at the beginning of the work, the author, having drawn a square, lost sight of him. And after that, having looked closely, I decided to outline its borders, and also to highlight the main background. To this end, he painted the outlines with a grayish color, and the background part also highlighted with a different shade.
Suprematist Icon
According to researchers, when Malevich worked on a painting that was later recognized as a masterpiece, he was haunted by a feeling of "metaphysical emptiness." It was he who he tried to express with great force in the White Square. And the color, local, faded, not at all festive, only emphasizes the terrible mystical state of the author.
This work, as it follows, is a derivative of the Black Square. And the first, no less than the second, claims to be the “title” of the icon of Suprematism. Malevich’s “White Square” shows clear and even lines outlining a rectangle, which, according to some researchers, is a symbol of fear and the meaninglessness of existence.
The artist poured all his spiritual experiences onto the canvas in the form of some kind of geometric abstract art, which actually carries a deep meaning.
Interpretation of whiteness
In Russian poetry, the interpretation of white approaches the vision of Buddhists. In them it means emptiness, nirvana, the incomprehensibility of being. Painting of the XX century, like no other, mythologizes precisely white.
As for the Suprematists, they saw in it, first of all, a symbol of a multidimensional space, different from Euclidean. It immerses the observer in a meditative trance, which purifies the soul of a person like practicing Buddhist practice.
Kazimir Malevich himself on this occasion spoke as follows. He wrote that the movement of Suprematism is already moving towards an objectless white nature, towards white purity, towards white consciousness, towards white excitations. And this, in his opinion, is the highest stage of a contemplative state, whether it is movement or peace.
Escape from life's difficulties
Malevich's “White Square” was the peak and end of his Suprematist painting. He himself was delighted with him. The master said that he managed to break into the azure screen, dictated by color restrictions, and go out into whiteness. He called on his comrades, calling them navigators, to sail after him towards the abyss, since he had erected beacons of Suprematism, and infinity - a free white abyss - lies in front of them.
However, according to the researchers, the tragic essence is visible behind the poetic beauty of these phrases. The white abyss is a metaphor for non-being, that is, death. It is speculated that the artist cannot find the strength in himself to overcome the difficulties of life and therefore leaves them in white silence. Malevich completed two of his last exhibitions with white canvases. Thus, he seemed to confirm that he prefers leaving to nirvana to reality.
Where was the canvas exhibited?
As mentioned above, White Square was written in 1918. The first time it was shown in the spring of 1919 in Moscow at the exhibition "Pointless creativity and Suprematism." In 1927, the picture was shown in Berlin, after which it remained in the West.
She became the pinnacle of pointlessness, which Malevich strove for. After all, nothing can be more pointless and plotless than a white quadrangle on the same background. The artist admitted that white color beckons him with his freedom and infinity. Malevich’s “White Square” is often considered as the first example of monochrome painting.
This is one of the few paintings by the artist, which appeared in the collections of the United States and is available to the general American public. Perhaps, for this reason, this picture is superior to his other famous works, not excluding Black Square. Here she is seen as the pinnacle of the entire Suprematist trend in painting.
Encrypted meaning or nonsense?
Some researchers believe that all sorts of interpretations of the philosophical and psychological significance of paintings by Kazimir Malevich, including his squares, are far-fetched. But in fact there is no high sense in them. An example of such opinions is the story of Malevich's “Black Square” and white stripes on it.
On December 19, 1915, a futuristic exhibition was being prepared in St. Petersburg, for which Malevich promised to write several paintings. He had little time left, either he didn’t have time to finish the canvas for the exhibition, or was dissatisfied with the result that he had overstained with black paint. And so it turned out a black square.
At this time, a friend of the artist appeared in the studio and, looking at the canvas, exclaimed: “Brilliant!” And then Malevich came up with the idea of ​​a trick, which could be a way out of this situation. He decided to give the resulting black square some mysterious meaning.
This can also explain the effect of cracked paint on the canvas. That is, no mysticism, just a blackened-in failed painting. It should be noted that several attempts have been made to study the canvas in order to detect the original version of the image. But they did not end with success. To date, they have been discontinued so as not to damage the masterpiece.
A closer look through the craquelures reveals a hint of other tones, colors and patterns, as well as white stripes. But this is not necessarily the picture below the top layer. This may well be the bottom layer of the square itself, which was formed in the process of writing it.
It should be noted that there are a very large number of similar versions regarding artificial hype around all Malevich’s squares. But what really is? Most likely, the secret of this artist will never be revealed.