After flirtations with Realism, Impressionism, and Symbolism, Kiev-born Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935) found his metier in dissolving literal, representational figures and landscapes into pure, emotionally-charged abstraction. 

In 1915, he created what is widely lauded as the first and ultimate abstract artwork: Black Square (1915), a black rectangle on a white background, hailed as the "zero point of painting," a seminal moment for modern and abstract practice.In this book, we follow Malevich's key innovations and ideas and place his groundbreaking achievements within the context of both the Russian and global avant-garde. 

Through rich illustrations of his work, we explore the artist's theory of Suprematism, based on severe geometric abstraction and "the supremacy of pure feeling in creative art;" his leading role in the development of Constructivism; as well as his interests in philosophy, literature, Russian folk art, and the fourth dimension.

The author:

Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer, and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU Museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Élie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

The Russian Avant-Garde, which brought about an artistic revolution between 1905 and 1934, represents one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of 20th-century art. 

Artists like Malevich, Kandinsky and Chagall are highly esteemed the world over. But this movement was much more diverse than is generally realised. For the first time this artistic wealth is being presented in a major sequence of pictures. 

140 masterpieces of painting demonstrate the parallel development of widely different styles, design principles and aesthetic ideas. 

The avant-garde artists influenced each other or were sometimes in conflict with each other. At the same time you could find advocates of representational Expressionism and supporters of pure abstraction; styles like Primitivism, Cubo-Futurism and Suprematism followed each other in succession. 

Surprising contrasts of works by different artists demonstrate the differences, so that the successive conflicting –isms are clearly demonstrated. 

Through this visual confrontation the picture of all the many different forms of Russian avant-garde come alive.

The supremacy of pure feeling

Dabbling in fauvism and cubism before founding the Suprematist movement, Russian painter and sculptor Kasimir Malevich (1879-1935) was a leading figure of the avant-garde and a pioneer of the non-objective style that he felt would "free viewers from the material world." In 1915, the same year he produced his most famous painting, "Black Square," he published the manifesto From Cubism to Suprematism. To critics who accused his work of being devoid of beauty and nature, he responded "art does not need us, and it never did." His 1918 painting "Suprematist Composition: White on White," one of the most radical artworks of its time, fetched $60 million at auction in 2008.
The supremacy of pure feeling

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art Series  features:

• a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
• a concise biography
• approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The author:
Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

Посмотреть русскоязычное издание книги Malevich - Малевич

Эта книга посвящена творчеству Казимира Севериновича Малевича /1878–1935 / – одного из наиболее влиятельных творцов русского художественного авангарда. Автор книги подробно рассматривает, как созданное Малевичем художественное течение «супрематизм» формировало новые художественно-композиционные средства и приемы второго суперстиля.

Kazimir Malevich (1878 - 1935) was a painter and a great art theorist but first and foremost he was the founder of Suprematism (pure abstraction), a style based on geometrical forms. “Suprematism,��? he wrote, “has led me to discover something that had not been understood until then… there is in human consciousness an imperious desire of space and the will to escape from Earth.��?
This new publication presents the brilliant works of Malevich, the original painter, who until the age of twentyseven had no professional background as a painter, and who learned to draw out of curiosity and out of his will to learn. Gerry Souter once more offers us the works of a brilliant artist as well as a new perspective on the artist’s personality.

The Author:
Gerry Souter earned his degree at The Art Institute of Chicago and then went on to do further studies in art at the University of Chicago. Himself an artist, Souter has exhibited his paintings and photographs at The Art Institute of Chicago, the Phoenix Art Museum and a number of other galleries. A professional author, he has written more than twenty books since 1997, with great success. His continuing studies in Art History and Architecture, the sharpness of his writing, and his visual experience add a dynamic aspect to the study of the lives of artists and the description of their works, keeping the reader captivated, page after page.

Книга о живописце, графике, педагоге Казимире Малевиче (1878–1935). «Черный квадрат» Малевича стал не просто символом свободы: картина превратилась в икону, которую следовало не слепо обожать, а использовать в качестве путеводного маяка, ведущего зрителя в сферы божественного. Шедевр Малевича невозможно постичь без обращения к его мистицизму – в свою очередь увлечение было анафемой сталинскому режиму, при котором художнику пришлось жить. Ему приходилось приспосабливаться, стараясь защитить себя. Возникшая в результате этого путаница в сочетании с недомолвками в советской истории и историографии превратила Малевича в некую мифическую фигуру. Он скончался в 1935 году и оказался вычеркнут из советской истории искусства на следующие 25 лет. Но это не значит, что творчество Малевича не знали. Парадоксально, но слава опередила реальное знакомство с его искусством. Даже цензура не смогла преуменьшить его статус. Наследие Малевича охватывает художественное, архитектурное и теоретическое направление. Художник играл видную роль в наиболее важных творческих тенденциях ХХ столетия. Издание состоит из четырех глав, рассказывающих о жизни художника и об истории создания каждой картины, представленной в издании. В конце книги приводится хронология жизни и творчества мастера, проиллюстрированная документальными фотографиями.

Посмотреть англоязычное издание книги Малевич - Malevich