Page from Gustave Doré, L’Histoire pittoresque, dramatique et caricaturale de la sainte Russie (Paris, 1854). Translated, the black panel’s caption reads: “The origins of Russia are lost in the darkness of antiquity”.
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 Origins of Russia Are Lost in the Darkness of Antiquity
Artist
Date
1854
From
L’Histoire pittoresque, dramatique et caricaturale de la sainte Russie
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