Page 49 - Studio International - April 1974
P. 49
Suprematist Painting Black and Red Square 1915 4 In Usikiro Kruchenykh, Malevich and Matiushin
Oil on canvas, 71*1 x 44*4 cm took part in the 'First All-Russian Congress of
Coll. Museum of Modern Art, New York Singers of the Future (Poet-Futurists)', see Markov
op. cit., p. 41, and also Charlotte Douglas, 'Birth of a
Royal Infant — Malevich and "Victory over the Sun"',
Art in America, March 1974.
5 Collection George Costakis, Moscow.
6 The titles of the paintings exhibited in the 'Union of
Youth' exhibition, which was held in St Petersburg
from November io to January 10, 1913-14, are listed
in Anderson, `Malevich', Amsterdam, 1970, p. 162.
See Charlotte Douglas, op. cit.
8 Benedict Livshits, 'Polutoraglazy Strelets',
Leningrad, 1933. Howard Hinton's book is 'The
Fourth Dimension', London and New York, 1904.
9 Quoted in English in Gray, 'Cubist Aesthetic
Theories', Baltimore, 1953, p. 82.
1° I am grateful to A. Nakov for informing me of this
manuscript and of a letter written by V. Markov
Matvei to Kandinsky enquiring about the
forthcoming publication of a book by Gleizes and
Metzinger in the early autumn of 1912 so he points
out that Matiushin would not have been the only
recipient of the book in Russia.
11 Malevich's continued friendship with Matiushin is
documented by an account of their visit to
Michaldevo outside Moscow in the summer of 1915,
written by Mariussa Burliuk in 'Colour and Rhyme'
No. 26, 1952.
12 Hinton, op. cit, p. 16o.
12 ditto, p. 14.
14 Troels Anderson, op. cit., p. 32.
15 Sophie Lissitsky-Kuppers, 'El Lissitsky', London,
1968, p. 333.
16 ibid., P. 348.
17 Livshits, op. cit., p. 187.
18 Ouspensky, op. cit., P. 73.
19 Lissitsky-Kuppers, op. cit., p. 35o.
20 The exhibition 0.10 was called 'Nought to ten' and
the choice of the title may stem from a review of the
Salon des Indépendants held in Paris in March 1914,
in which Malevich showed two paintings. The review
by André Salmon appeared in Montjoie Deuxième
Année No. 3, Mars 1914, p. 22. He wrote : `Le
critique que nous avons tue cut tire de sa barbe
habit& des mouches un numéro, une cote, o ou io;
mauvais, passable ou très bien, afin de l'epingler — par
quel mandat ? de quel droit ? dans quel but ? pour la
satisfaction de quel dieu goguenard et marchand de
couleurs ?'
Montjoie is likely to have attracted considerable
attention in Russia and Troels Anderson has already
pointed out the importance to Malevich of the lectures
by Leger at the Academie Vassilief in Paris which
were printed in June 1913 and June 1914.
If, as Anderson assumes, Malevich knew the
publication, an illustration by Gordon-Craig for an
article entitled 'Vers un Théâtre Nouveau' which
appeared in May 1913 is likely to have been of
paramount interest to him. It represents a picture-
frame of square format enclosing a smaller black
frame which in turn encloses a small, dark square
image of a tiny figure in front of a block-like structure,
so shaded in black and white that it almost becomes a
black square.
21 Lissitsky-Kuppers, op. cit., p. 46. These must
antedate Malevich's letter to Benois (1916).
22 ditto, p. 351.
23 V. Markov, 'The Longer Poems of
V. Khlebnikov', Modern Philology, Vol. LXII,
University of California Press, 1962, p. 151.
21 Linda Dalrymple Henderson, "The Fourth
Dimension' and Non-Euclidean Geometry'
reinterpreted" The Art Quarterly, winter, 1971.
I would like to thank Professor Herbert, of Yale
University, for drawing my attention to this crucial
article without which mine could not have been
written.
25 E. P. Jouffret, `Traité élémentaire de geometric a
quatre dimensions', Paris, 1903.
20 The Russian letter 'B' is transcribed 'V' and it is
often wrongly assumed that 'V' is the roman numeral,
but Tramway Five is an incorrect title. I am indebted
to Peter Vergo, of Essex University, for pointing out
the connection between the 'B' in this painting and
the exhibition title and suggesting that the two should
be connected in date. I am very grateful to Mr Vergo
for his help in correcting this manuscript.
27 Lissitsky-Kuppers, op. cit., p. 35o.
28 Ouspensky, op. cit., pp. 30o and 301.
