Two Essays about Suprematism by Kazimir Malevich – "From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: A New Realism in ...

Two Essays about Suprematism by Kazimir Malevich – "From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: A New Realism in Painting", Illustrated Edition / "From Cézanne to Suprematism" – Moscow, 1916/1920

Two essays about Suprematism by Kazimir Malevich:
1. От кубизма и футуризма к супрематизму. Новый живописный реализм [From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: A New Realism in Painting]. Moscow, 1916. Third edition (first illustrated edition). Russian.
The manifest "From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: A New Realism in Painting" was first printed for "The Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0.10", held in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) from December 1915 to January 1916. In this exhibition, Kazimir Malevich displayed for the first time the new artistic style he had founded – Suprematism. In the upper corner of the exhibition hall, a place that in Russian Orthodox houses was designated for hanging icons, Malevich hang what he considered to be the most important work of the exhibition – his painting "Black Square". The suprematist "Black Square" symbolized the end of figurative painting and is considered a turning point in the history of modern art.
Alongside Malevich's description of the principles of Suprematism and its novelty, this booklet features two illustration plates (photolithographs) depicting the works "Black Square" and "Black Circle". The "Black Square" was also printed on the front cover.
The first two editions of this manifest were printed for the opening of the exhibition, without illustrations. This third edition is a revised and enlarged edition, and the first illustrated one.
31 pp + [2] plates, 18 cm. Good-fair overall condition. Stains on several leaves. Blemishes and open tears (sometimes affecting text). The entire booklet was professionally restored. One leaf is detached.
2. От Сезанна до супрематизма [From Cézanne to Suprematism]. [Moscow?]: The Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat (Отдел Изобразительных Искусств Наркомпросса), [1920]. Russian.
16 pp, 18.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, mostly on the back cover.

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Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935), an artist and theoretician of the Russian avant-garde. One of the pioneers of abstract art in the early 20th century. Malevich was born in Ukraine to a family of Polish origin, the eldest of fourteen siblings. In 1904, he travelled to Moscow to study art and took part in several of the projects that are most identified with the Russian avant-garde (including the design of the stage-set for the Futurist opera "Victory Over the Sun"). In 1915, he exhibited in the "Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0.10" one of his iconic works – "The Black Square", which is considered one of the seminal works of modern art (Malevich painted four additional versions of the work in his lifetime). The work paved the way for the new style developed by Malevich, Suprematism, and introduced its major characteristics: using simple geometrical forms and a limited selection of colors. In years to come, Malevich's influence increased and in 1920, backed up by an enthusiastic circle of supporters, he took the place of Marc Chagall at the art school of Vitebsk. Due to political changes, in his final years Malevich was forced to alter his revolutionary style and adopt the model of socialist realism. He died in 1935, in poverty and far from the public's eye.