Kasimir Malevich (1879 – 1935) was born near Kiev. His earliest work shows the influence of cubism, distinguished by great clarity of outline. In 1912 he began to develop his own style, known as suprematism (referring to the supremacy of feeling over all other artistic considerations).
In this completely nonobjective approach, he used only geometric elements (rectangles and squares), first with some color and then with white on white. A noteworthy example is his Suprematist Composition: White on White (1918). He claimed that he made a picture consisting of nothing than a black square on a white field. There is often difficult knowing which way up his paintings should be hung. Soviet political that demanded Socialist Realism from its artists turned against his art, he died in poverty and oblivion in Leningrad.
