malevich133 Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)
Kazimir Malevich – malevich133
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Painter: Kazimir Malevich
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The habit of perceiving all of Malevich’s work in only one style-"cubism"-is ruinous. He, like all creative geniuses, had a knack for different styles. He could paint a landscape, as the painter Aivazovsky did and more than once, Picasso also more than once changed his style of work and also painted landscapes. For us, the modern public strictly associates the artist with the "Black Square" and seeing this picture, many will be surprised that it was painted by Malevich. Although, if you look closely, you just can not mistakenly recognize the author.
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Description of Kazimir Malevich’s painting The Harvest
The habit of perceiving all of Malevich’s work in only one style-"cubism"-is ruinous. He, like all creative geniuses, had a knack for different styles. He could paint a landscape, as the painter Aivazovsky did and more than once, Picasso also more than once changed his style of work and also painted landscapes. For us, the modern public strictly associates the artist with the "Black Square" and seeing this picture, many will be surprised that it was painted by Malevich.
Although, if you look closely, you just can not mistakenly recognize the author. There is something of Cubism here, at least the sharp lines of the fields. And the very notion of "wheat" is not clearly traced here. And the women are strange, with unimaginative figures. They’re no match for the classic Venus. But even through the purely symbolic definition of the faces and through the statics one can feel how hard these women are working. And do not look at the primitiveness of the drawing, or the lack of our usual landscape realities.
The artist stayed true to himself and did not condition place and action. And even did not change his manner of writing, just created a slightly different work not in his genre, but left his style. They say he created it on a bet. But these are only legends. By the way, it is worth noting that here, too, the work is not overflowing with color, even the bright colors are somehow muted.
It was difficult for Malevich to live in real space, he rather survived than lived. But still his fame still thunders throughout the world, and his paintings are worth so much that the proceeds could easily buy a few houses. Even such obscure images are now valued very expensively. This same "Harvest" has long been valued at several hundred thousand dollars. The artist’s paintings are not only in private collections but also in public museums in Russia and Europe.
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A striking element is the color scheme: vibrant blues for the head covering, stark white for the upper arm, deep blacks for the torso and skirt, and intense reds for the lower legs and hands. These colors are not employed naturalistically; instead, they contribute to a sense of heightened emotional intensity and symbolic weight. The background consists of an abstracted field of golden grain, rendered in broad strokes that evoke both abundance and perhaps a certain uniformity. A patch of green is visible on the right side, providing a contrast to the dominant yellows and oranges.
The figure’s bare feet are notable; they ground the composition while also suggesting vulnerability or a connection to the earth. The face is minimally defined, lacking detailed features, which contributes to an overall sense of anonymity – this individual could represent any laborer, embodying a universal experience rather than portraying a specific person.
Subtextually, the work seems to explore themes of labor, sustenance, and perhaps even spiritual connection to nature. The stylized rendering and bold colors suggest a move away from purely observational representation towards a more expressive and symbolic mode. Theres an underlying tension between the figure’s physical exertion and the almost static quality of the composition, hinting at a deeper contemplation on human effort within a larger, possibly indifferent, natural world. The deliberate flattening of perspective and simplification of form contribute to a sense of timelessness, elevating the scene beyond a mere depiction of rural life.