Black Square

Russian painter Kazimir Malevich painted this Black Square in 1915, a simple black square on a white background that became the icon of Suprematism. He called it the "zero point of painting," stripping art to its most basic geometric form. The work premiered at "The Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10" in Petrograd, hung in the icon corner where Russian homes traditionally placed religious images.

This placement was deliberate. Malevich intended Suprematism as a spiritual movement, freeing art from representing the objective world. X-ray analysis at the Tretyakov Gallery revealed two earlier paintings beneath the black surface: a colorful Suprematist composition and another layer below.

Malevich produced four versions of Black Square over his career. The original, in fragile condition, hangs at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. At his 1935 funeral, mourners carried flags with black squares, and one marked his grave.