malevich taking in the rye 1912 Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)
Kazimir Malevich – malevich taking in the rye 1912
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Painter: Kazimir Malevich
Location: Municipal Museum (Stedelijk Museum), Amsterdam.
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"Harvesting the Rye" is a specimen of Russian Cubo-Futurism, which originated with the French masters. The work belongs to a peasant series of paintings depicting the humdrum way of rural life. During this period, Malevich had a breakthrough in the direction of artistic style. The plot of the picture is quite simple: the peasants are harvesting hay. The figures of people are deprived of complex details and deliberately depicted enlarged.
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Description of the painting "Harvesting the Rye" by Kazimir Malevich
"Harvesting the Rye" is a specimen of Russian Cubo-Futurism, which originated with the French masters. The work belongs to a peasant series of paintings depicting the humdrum way of rural life. During this period, Malevich had a breakthrough in the direction of artistic style.
The plot of the picture is quite simple: the peasants are harvesting hay. The figures of people are deprived of complex details and deliberately depicted enlarged. They seem to be made up of bent sheets of iron, the hard material casting a metallic glow in the light. Although the bodies are painted rather simply and schematically, it is easy to tell where the men and women are.
The peasants look sturdy, solid on their feet, one might even say monumental. Their faces retain a calm expression, and their features refer us to icon painting, where the canon always depicted large eyes.
The painting of the peasant figures is completely devoid of realism and naturalism. Despite this, there are some dramatic notes in the work. The people resemble each other, their labor is mechanized, they seem aloof. This creates a stark contrast to the usual enthusiastic and heroic images of socialist workers, filled with pride and a passionate desire to serve for the good of the country.
"Harvesting the Rye" is one of the first paintings that showed signs of Cubo-Futurist painting. The haystacks in the form of cylinders and the clear shapes of the human figures make up a rather strong and stable composition. Interestingly, the upper part of the painting seems to escape from the control of this rigid scheme. The stacks are arranged haphazardly, disrupting the order, creating chaotic and unrestrained.
The eye is drawn to the vibrant palette using complementary color contrasts. Energetic combinations of red and green, blue and yellow add a certain dynamism to the frozen forms.
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The central figure, dressed in blue, is positioned slightly behind and above the others, his head turned as if engaged in conversation or sharing a moment of understanding with the figure on the right. The third figure, wearing orange and yellow, leans forward, their hands clasped together, suggesting an act of connection or shared labor.
Behind these figures, a rhythmic pattern of undulating forms rises like waves or fields of grain. These shapes are executed in warm tones – yellows, oranges, and browns – creating a backdrop that evokes the feeling of a vast, sun-drenched expanse. The use of color is significant; the red of the left figure might symbolize passion or intensity, while the blue of the central figure could represent intellect or spirituality. The orange and yellow of the third figure suggest warmth, vitality, and perhaps even harvest.
The artist’s choice to depict these figures in profile, rather than a frontal view, contributes to their sense of anonymity and universality. They are not portraits of specific individuals but archetypes representing human interaction within a natural setting.
Subtly, the painting seems to explore themes of communication, shared experience, and humanitys relationship with nature. The rhythmic repetition of forms in the background could be interpreted as symbolizing the cyclical patterns of agricultural life or the enduring connection between people and the land. There is an underlying sense of quietude and introspection; a moment captured not of action but of reflection within a rural context.