Robert Fludd’s black square representing the nothingness that was prior to the universe, from his Utriusque Cosmi (1617). On each side of the square is written “Et sic in infinitum…” (And so on to infinity…”.
Featured on PDR in the essay Precedents of the Unprecedented: Black Squares Before Malevich
Described by Kasimir Malevich as the “first step of pure creation in art”, his *Black Square* of 1915 has been cast as a total break from all that came before it. Yet searching across more than five hundred years of images related to mourning, humour, politics, and philosophy, Andrew Spira uncovers a slew of unlikely foreshadows to Malevich's radical abstraction.
Also appearing in the essay…
Other works by the artist in the archive…
The Nothingness That Was Prior to the Universe
Artist
Date
1617
From
Utriusque cosmi
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