Ot kubizma i futurizma k suprematizmu. Novyi zhivopisnyi realizm (From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: New Painterly Realism)

Ot kubizma i futurizma k suprematizmu. Novyi zhivopisnyi realizm (From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: New Painterly Realism) by Kazimir Malevich is a foundational theoretical text of the Russian avant-garde movement. Published in 1916, this illustrated book codified the artist's systematic transition away from earlier modernist experiments-specifically Cubism and Futurism-toward his entirely new, non-objective philosophy: Suprematism. This work served as Malevich’s comprehensive manifesto, asserting the supremacy of pure artistic feeling and geometric forms over the depiction of the natural world.

In the text, Malevich systematically outlined the evolution of his visual language, advocating for a spiritual dimension inherent in pure abstraction. He sought to define the zero-point of painting, where subject matter was eliminated in favor of abstract elements like the square and the circle. The publication was instrumental in the widespread dissemination of Suprematist ideas among fellow Russian artists and theoreticians, solidifying 1916 as the defining moment where geometric abstraction gained its definitive theoretical grounding.

Classified formally as an illustrated book, the original piece contains three photolithographed illustrations, including the revolutionary geometric cover design, which visually reinforce the stark principles discussed within the text. This volume is a crucial historical artifact for understanding early 20th-century Russian intellectual and artistic production. As a key document for modern abstraction, its content is widely studied today, and numerous prints and digital copies of Ot kubizma i futurizma k suprematizmu. Novyi zhivopisnyi realizm are frequently accessed in the public domain. This significant volume, chronicling a major shift in modernist theory, is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).