Art History News: Kazimir Malevich at Auction

5 June, 2018 Sotheby’s

KAZIMIR SEVERINOVICH MALEVICH The Secret of Temptation with Portrait of Ivan Kliun on the verso, 1908 (Lot 64) Watercolour, gouache and pencil on card Estimate: £250,000 – 350,000

A rare figurative work on paper this watercolour is one of only a dozen or so original works by Malevich to have appeared at auction in the past decade. Malevich is best-known for his ground-breaking abstract Suprematist works.

The Secret of Temptation (1908) dates from the artist’s short Symbolist period at a time when the artist was working on a series of religious-themed works. This work however, is far from celestial. In this bright sunny picture we find an expression of his elevated feelings on sex and the sacred nature of man, speaking volumes about the attitude of the young 29-year-old artist.

On the reverse of the present work is a pencil portrait by Malevich of Ivan Kliun (1873-1943), an artist with whom he formed a lifelong friendship just at this period when both were turning to Symbolist subjects and were executing works in a similar, ornate style.

Christie’s Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art May 15 2018

Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition, 1916, oil on canvas. © Christie’s Images Limited 2018.

Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition, 1916, will lead Christie’s Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art (estimate upon request). Suprematist Composition is among the groundbreaking abstract paintings executed by Malevich that would forever change the course of art history. The present canvas was last sold at auction in November 2008, when it established the world auction record for the artist, which it continues to hold today.* One decade later, Suprematist Composition is expected to set a new benchmark for the artist when it is offered at Christie’s New York on May 15.

Loic Gouzer, Co-Chairman, Post-War and Contemporary Art, remarked: “Malevich’s work provided a gateway for the evolution of Modernism. Malevich pushed the boundaries of painting to a point far beyond recognition, forever changing the advancement of art. Without the Suprematist Composition paintings, the art being made today would not exist as we now know it.”
Max Carter, Head of Department, Impressionist and Modern Art, New York, continued: “Malevich’s Suprematist abstractions didn’t break with the past so much as articulate the future. What an honor to offer Suprematist Composition, 1916 which has lost nothing of its revolutionary power in the century since it was painted, this spring.”

On 17th December 1915, the Russo-Polish artist Kazimir Malevich opened an exhibition of his new ‘Suprematist’ paintings in the Dobychina Art Bureau in the recently renamed city of Petrograd. These startling, purely geometric and completely abstract paintings were unlike anything Malevich, or any other modern painter, had ever done before. They were both a shock and a revelation to everyone who saw them.

Malevich’s Suprematist pictures were the very first purely geometric abstract paintings in the history of modern art. They comprised solely of simple, colored forms that appeared to float and hover over plain white backgrounds. Nothing but clearly-organized, self-asserting painted surfaces of non-objective/non- representational form and color, these pictures were so radically new that they seemed to announce the end of painting and, even perhaps, of art itself.

Suprematist Composition is one of the finest and most complex of these first, truly revolutionary abstract paintings. Comprised of numerous colored, geometric elements seeming to be dynamically caught in motion, it epitomizes what Malevich defined as his ‘supreme’ or ‘Suprematist’ vision of the world. The painting is not known to have been a part of the exhibition in the Dobychina Art Bureau but is believed to date from this same period of creative breakthrough and, if not included, was, presumably painted very soon after the show closed in January 1916.

It is clear, from the frequency with which Malevich later exhibited the picture, that he thought very highly of the painting. Malevich subsequently chose, for example, to include Suprematist Composition in every other major survey of his Suprematist pictures made during his lifetime. These exhibitions ranged from his first major retrospective in Moscow in 1919 to the great travelling retrospective showcasing much of his best work that he brought to the West in 1927.

It was as a result of his last exhibition held in Berlin that Suprematist Composition came to form part of the extraordinarily influential group of Malevich’s paintings that remained in the West and represent so much of his creative legacy.

Hidden in Germany throughout much of the 1930’s, Suprematist Composition and the other works from this great Berlin exhibition, were ultimately to become part of the highly influential holdings of Malevich’s work in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Until 2008, when it was restituted to the heirs of Malevich’s family in agreement with the Stedelijk museum, Suprematist Composition was on view in Amsterdam as part of the Stedelijk’s unrivalled collection of the artist’s work.

Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 20 June 2018

Kazimir Malevich, Landscape, 1911. Gouache on paper laid down on board, 41 3/4 x 41 3/4 in. (106 x 106 cm.). Estimate: £7,000,000-10,000,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2018.

Kazimir Malevich’s Landscape (1911, estimate: £7,000,000-10,000,000) will be a major highlight of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 20 June 2018, part of ‘20th Century at Christie’s’, a series of auctions taking place from 15 to 21 June 2018. The monumental, square-format landscape is from ‘The Red Series’, a group of works characterised by gestural brush strokes and an expressive use of colour, referencing both Fauvism and Cubism, and anticipating Malevich’s move towards Suprematism.

Landscape was first exhibited in the ‘Moscow Salon’ in February / March 1911. It was subsequently shown the following year in St. Petersburg as part of ‘The Union of Youth’, where Malevich represented a radical collective known as ‘Donkey’s Tail’.

In 1927, he was invited to Germany to show his work for the first time outside Russia and brought with him the best works of his career to date. Landscape was one such work and remained in Berlin after Malevich returned to Russia. Due to the rise of totalitarianism in Germany and in his home country, the artist lost control of his works abroad before he died in 1935.

Landscape resurfaced after the war and was acquired by the Kunstmuseum Basel, where it hung for over 50 years, before being restituted to the heirs of the artist. It is now being offered from a private collection and represents the first time that work has come to auction in two generations. Landscape will be exhibited in London from 15 to 20 June 2018.

Landscape is a ‘pure’ landscape painting whose motif of peasant dwellings surrounded by stylized treetops is borrowed from Russian primitive art. The use of colour to sculpt the forms represented recalls the techniques employed by Cézanne, while the block-like depiction of the buildings nods towards the Cubist compositions of Braque and Picasso. By distilling these diverse visual references, Malevich has created a powerful and profoundly unique work of art. He himself stated that ‘one was obliged to move both along the line of primitive treatment of phenomena, and along the line of Cézanne to cubism.’ The red-hot gleam on the horizon is a direct depiction of the sun, one of the unique features of the painting that foretells the primacy of colour that would define Suprematism.

In the early 1930s, Malevich returned to creating ‘pure’ landscapes, producing

Landscape with five houses,

Landscape with a white house,

Red House

and Red House, all of which are in the collection of the State Russian Museum.

Sotheby’s 24th June 2015

Sotheby’s has announced that its forthcoming Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 24th June 2015 will feature Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematism, 18th Construction of 1915. Appearing at auction for the first time –a century after it was painted -the work comes to sale directly from the artist’s family and is estimated at £20-30m/ $30-45m.

Kazimir Malevich’s 'Suprematist' canvases –of which Suprematism, 18th Construction is an outstanding, pure example -are his greatest achievements. Their majestic purity echoesthroughout the visuallanguage of modern art, architecture and design. In the last 25 years only three major works by Malevich have been sold at auction, the most recent of which (Suprematist Composition from 1916 - see 2008 below) was sold in 2008 at Sotheby’s New York for a record $60 million. Suprematism, 18th Construction shares the same exceptional provenance and we are honoured to have been entrusted by the artist’s family once more. Appreciation for works by Malevich is now more global than ever before,and with so few oft hese rare early Suprematist works remaining in private hands, the sale presents one of the last opportunities to acquire one.” Helena Newman, Sotheby’s Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art

The History and Significance of Suprematism, 18th Construction

Suprematism, 18th Construction dates from the height of the artist’s career, a period that marked the epitome of revolutionary abstraction and placed Malevich as one of the most important international artists of the 20th Century. It was held in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, for fifty years before being restituted to the artist’s family. This work was included in the first ever showing of Suprematist pictures in November 1915 at the Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Moscow, which preceded the seminal 0,10: Last Futurist Exhibition of Painting sheld in Saint Petersburg (at the time Petrograd) in1915-16–an exhibition that was to establish Malevich, alongside Popova and Tatlin,as one of the most influential artists of his era.

In 1927, Malevich accompanied Suprematism,18th Construction to an exhibition in Berlin, introducing Western Europe to the unprecedented aesthetic that he had devised. In June 1927, the artist was obliged to return to the Soviet Union and arranged for the paintings to be stored in Berlin, but he was prevented from leaving the Soviet Union, where he died in 1935. Suprematism,18th Construction was later entrusted to the German architect Hugo Häring, who purportedly sold it to the Stedelijk Museum. It was finally returned to the artist's heirs after a historic settlement was reached with the City of Amsterdam following a 17-year struggle.

Most recently, the work was included in Tate Modern’s critically acclaimed retrospective of 2014, and it has been requested by the Fondation Beyeler to be loaned for their forthcoming reconstruction of the 0,10 Exhibition.

Malevich and the Evolution of Suprematism

Malevich’s art heralded a new succinct language of abstract forms and bold colour planes which was as revolutionary as the Cubisma nd Futurism rom which it emerged. Suprematism was rooted in Malevich’s desire to move beyond traditional representation towards an art of pure colour and geometric form and proposed something new in that it rejected a subjective basis or theme.

“Colour and texture in painting are ends in themselves,” he wrote in his 1916 treatise.

The genesis of Suprematist painting was preceded by Malevich’s experiences as a young artist of the fledgling Russian avant-garde. In 1907 he was invited to exhibit with notables such as Wassily Kandinsky and Mikhail Larionov at the Association of Moscow Artists. Around 1914, Malevich became a leader of the Russian Futurist movement, and began taking bolder steps with his painting. By the spring and summer of 1915, he finally discarded all reference to figuration in favour of coloured, unadorned geometric shapes on a white background and painted strikingly reductive compositions.

In 1915, the artist wrote a lengthy treatise about these paintings commonly known as the “Suprematist Manifesto”, which was published in Moscow in 1916.Unlike Soutine and Chagall, who left their native country in search of artistic inspiration in France, Malevich remained in Russia through the turbulent years following the revolution. Born in the Ukraine in 1878, he enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1905 and remained in that city throughout the 1910s. His early paintings from 1910-13 were not without reference to the French avant-garde, and incorporated a variation of the Cubist aesthetic made popular by Picasso and Braque. But as his painting developed, Malevich began reinterpreting the styles of Cubism, as well as Italian Futurism, and devised an artistic philosophy that was decidedly his own. Suprematism rejected the idea of objective representation and eliminated any references to nature.

The international breakthrough of Malevich’s career didnot occur until the seminal 1927 exhibition, Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung, in which Suprematism, 18th Construction was featured alongside seventy other of the artist’s works.

Sotheby’s November 3, 2008

On the evening of November 3, 2008, Sotheby’s presented for sale, Suprematist Composition from 1916 by Kazimir Malevich, a work renowned as a premier painting from one of the most sophisticated and innovative artistic movements of the 20thcentury. Regarded as an icon of Russian art and a paradigmatic example of the 20thcentury avant-garde, the masterwork was executed in 1916, the same year that Malevich published his Suprematist Manifesto. The painting had been featured in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam for the past fifty years before being restituted to the artist’s family. It has been included in every major exhibition of Malevich’s work ever mounted – both inside Russia and abroad, and was selected by the artist for his first ever exhibition to a Western audience in 1927. It sold for $60 million.

“Suprematist Composition is a magnificent modern work of art of enormous art historical importance and cultural resonance,” said Emmanuel Di-Donna, Vice Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art Worldwide and Head of Sotheby’s Evening Sales, New York. “It ranks amongst the finest paintings of the 20thCentury, on a par with the best paintings of modern masters such as Picasso, Rothko, Pollock and de Kooning that have ever come up for sale either at auction or privately. Never has a work by the artist of such significance, lyricism and vibrancy appeared on the market and it is a great privilege for Sotheby’s to be offering it at auction in November.”

A brilliant constellation of geometry and color in space, Suprematist Composition embodies what Malevich considered to be the pinnacle of artistic expression. As he did with his other major compositions from1915-16, the artist’s primary mode of expression here is an assemblyof shapes and colors, plotted systematically on canvas.

“Color and texture in painting are ends in themselves,” he wrote in his 1916 treatise. Suprematism was rooted in Malevich’s desire to move beyond traditional representation towards an art of pure color and geometric form. While this radical idea had its origins in Cubism and Futurism, Suprematism proposed something new in that it rejected a subjective basis or theme.

Jo Vickery, Senior Director and Head of Sotheby’s Russian Art Department, London, commented, “With the sale of Malevich's 1916 Suprematist Composition, it feels as though history has come full circle: we have a blazing debut of early Suprematist art at the top of the international art market. It’s an historical moment of a personal dimension for the artist's family, and for us all a chance toreconsider Malevich's unique contribution to art history. He dreamt of creating a kind of art which would speak to all nations equally and his pioneering abstract paintings cut through old ways of defining art, as well as breaking downpolitical and national boundaries.”

Suprematist Composition made its debut in one of the first important shows of the artist’s work at the 16thState Exhibition in Moscow in 1919-20, which established Malevich as one of the most influential artists of his era. In 1927, the Malevich accompanied this picture to exhibitions in Warsaw and Berlin, introducing Western Europe to the unprecedented aesthetic that he had devised.

In June 1927, the artist was obliged to return to the Soviet Union and arranged for the paintings to be stored in Berlin, but he was prevented from leaving the Soviet Union, where he died in 1935.

Suprematist Composition was later entrusted to the German architect Hugo Häring, who purportedly sold it to the Stedelijk Museum. It was finally returned to the artist's heirs after a historic settlement was reached with the City of Amsterdam following a 17-year struggle.

The Heirs of Kazimir Malevich issued a statement through a spokesperson as follows: “The Malevich family is delighted that this masterpiece by our renowned ancestor is being brought to market by Sotheby's. The sale confirms Kazimir Malevich's place in the pantheon of 20th century masters.”

The genesis of Suprematist painting was preceded by Malevich’s experiences as a young artist of the fledgling Russian avant-garde. In 1907 he was invited to exhibit with notables such as Wassily Kandinsky and Mikhail Larionov Association of Moscow Artists. Around 1914, Malevich became a leader of the Russian Futurist movement, and began taking bolder steps with his painting. Bythe spring and summer of 1915, he finally discarded all reference to figuration in favor of colored, unadorned geometric shapes on a white background and painted strikingly reductive compositions. In 1915, the artist wrote a lengthy treatise about these paintings commonly known as the “Suprematist Manifesto”, which was published in Moscow in 1916.

Unlike the Soutine and Chagall, who left their native country in search of artistic inspiration in France, Malevich remained in Russia through the turbulent years following the revolution. Born in the Ukraine in 1878, he enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1905 and remained in that citythroughout the 1910s. His early paintings from 1910-13 were not without reference to the French avant-garde, and incorporated a variation of the Cubist aesthetic made popular by Picasso and Braque.

But as his painting developed, Malevich began reinterpreting the styles of Cubism, as well as Italian Futurism, and devised an artistic philosophy that was decidedly his own. Suprematism rejected the idea of objective representation and eliminated any references to nature. The international breakthrough of Malevich’s career did not occur until the seminal 1927 exhibition, Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung, in which Suprematist Composition was featured alongside seventy other of the artist’s works.

SOTHEBY’S MAY 6, 2003

Sotheby’s offered for sale, on behalf of the heirs of Kazimir Malevich, his Suprematist Painting, Rectangle and Circle from 1915.

This painting was taken out of Nazi Germany in 1938 to ensure its safety and was brought to the United States by a museum curator. It was subsequently entrusted to the Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard University prior to its return to Malevich’s heirs in 1999.

Estimated to sell for $5/7 million, this painting was sold in Sotheby’s May 2003 Part I sale of Impressionist and Modern art. Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist paintings are among the most compelling works of 20th century art.

Composed of geometric shapes and a limited range of colors, these pictures exalt the beauty of pure form and color. One of the artist’s earliest explorations of this style of painting is Suprematist Painting, Rectangle and Circle, which Malevich completed in 1915 in the midst of writing his “Suprematist Manifesto.”

This work is one of his best known compositions, as it was featured in one of the first important exhibitions of the artist’s work at 16th State Exhibition in Moscow in 1919-20 and also in a retrospective of Malevich’s work in Berlin in 1927. From 1957 to 1999, this work was entrusted to Harvard University’s Busch-Reisinger Museum. With its sharply defined black and blue forms set against a field of white, Malevich considered this composition to be the pinnacle of artistic expression and “the creation of intuitive reason.

As one of Malevich’s premiere Suprematist creations, Suprematist Painting, Rectangle and Circle demonstrates the liberation of form and the celebration of the abstract in an extreme manner that was unmatched by avant-garde artists of the day. Unlike the Russian artists Soutine and Chagall who left their native country in search of artistic inspiration in France, Malevich remained in Russia during the critical period of transformation and revolution and was a key figure in the revival of Russian art and culture during this period.

Born in the Ukraine in 1878, the artist enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1905 and remained in that city throughout the 1910s. His early paintings from 1910-13 were not without reference to the French avant-garde, and incorporated a variation of the Cubist aesthetic made popular by Picasso and Braque. But as his painting developed, Malevich began reinterpreting the styles of Cubism, as well as Italian Futurism, and devised an artistic philosophy that was decidedly his own.

Suprematism revered the beauty of speed that had been championed by Futurism and Cubism's fragmenting of objects. In contrast to these two movements, Suprematism rejected the idea of objective representation and eliminated any references to nature.

At the time of Malevich’s death in 1935, Suprematist Painting, Rectangle and Circle was at the Provinzialmuseum (later renamed the Landesmuseum) in Hanover, Germany. Around this time, the National Socialists began censoring avant-garde works of art believed to be “degenerate,”and the present painting was at risk of seizure by the German government. The museum’s director, Alexander Dorner, who was an avid supporter of the Russian avant-garde, was entrusted to save this work and took it with him to the United States in 1938 for safe keeping.

At the time of Dorner’s death in 1957, the picture was left to the Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard University with the stipulation that it was to be on “extended loan and to be indicated as such by the museum.” The painting was returned to the Malevich family in 1999.

Sotheby's 2015