Cow and Violin from On New Systems in Art (O Novykh Sistemakh Visk Usstve) by Kazimir Malevich, created in 1911, is a seminal work marking the artist’s radical transition from visible reality toward abstraction. Produced as a lithograph, the print medium allowed Malevich to utilize bold lines and stark contrasts, perfectly suiting the Cubo-Futurist aesthetic he was developing. The work was published as part of a larger portfolio titled On New Systems in Art, reflecting the intense theoretical dynamism of the Russian avant-garde movement during the pivotal 1911–19 period.
Malevich deliberately juxtaposes two disparate, everyday objects: a cow’s profile and a violin. This seemingly nonsensical pairing exemplifies the transrational (zaum) approach, which sought to dismantle traditional narrative logic and rational representation. By elevating common items and placing them in an arbitrary visual relationship, the artist critiques established artistic conventions. The resulting composition focuses on the purely visual and structural elements, treating the subject matter less as descriptive forms and more as geometric components within a revolutionary pictorial space. This approach signaled a clear move away from illusionism toward the essential, non-objective forms that would soon define Suprematism.
As an early 20th-century print, Cow and Violin played a significant role in disseminating Malevich’s evolving theoretical concepts among fellow artists and scholars. The continued scholarly interest in this work highlights its position as a crucial precursor to the pure geometric abstraction that the artist would later champion. The original lithograph is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where it remains a key example of the experimental prints coming out of Russia during the height of Modernism. High-resolution images of this influential work are frequently available in the public domain, ensuring its accessibility and lasting impact on art history.
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