Foreshadowed: Malevich's Black Square and Its Precursors

Several painters, writers, philosophers, scientists, and censors have independently arrived at the form of the black square or rectangle over the past 500 years, as this book demonstrates. It explores the resonances between Malevich's Black Square and its predecessors, showing how a 'genealogical thread binds them together into an intriguing and sometimes quirky sequence of modulations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 11 April 2022
Publisher: Reaktion Books

When Kasimir Malevich's Black Square was produced in 1915, no one had ever seen anything like it before. And yet, it does have precedents. In fact, over the previous 500 years, several painters, writers, philosophers, scientists, and censors – each working independently towards an absolute statement of their own – alighted on the form of the black square or rectangle, as if for the first time. This book explores the resonances between Malevich's Black Square and its precursors, showing how a 'genealogical thread binds them together into an intriguing, and sometimes quirky, sequence of modulations. Andrew Spiras' book explores how each predecessor both 'foreshadows Malevich's work and, paradoxically, throws light on it, revealing layers of meaning that are often overlooked but which are as relevant today as ever.

When Kasimir Malevich's Black Square was produced in 1915, no one had ever seen anything like it before. And yet, it does have precedents. In fact, over the previous 500 years, several painters, writers, philosophers, scientists, and censors – each working independently towards an absolute statement of their own – alighted on the form of the black square or rectangle, as if for the first time. This book explores the resonances between Malevich's Black Square and its precursors, showing how a 'genealogical thread binds them together into an intriguing, and sometimes quirky, sequence of modulations. Andrew Spiras' book explores how each predecessor both 'foreshadows Malevich's work and, paradoxically, throws light on it, revealing layers of meaning that are often overlooked but which are as relevant today as ever.

Dimension: 208 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789145359