malevich168 Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)
Kazimir Malevich – malevich168
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Painter: Kazimir Malevich
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The work is currently held in St. Petersburg, in the State Russian Museum. It was painted in the early 1930s on oil on canvas. The size of the canvas is 79x98,5 centimeters. At this time the artist was moving to the period of his creativity, where he tried to create new human figures and objects, which seemed to be assembled from different geometric figures. After this stage, he began to depict characters that could be easily recognized.
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Description of the painting "Bathers" by Kazimir Malevich
The work is currently held in St. Petersburg, in the State Russian Museum. It was painted in the early 1930s on oil on canvas. The size of the canvas is 79x98,5 centimeters.
At this time the artist was moving to the period of his creativity, where he tried to create new human figures and objects, which seemed to be assembled from different geometric figures. After this stage, he began to depict characters that could be easily recognized. These were realistic objects and characters. Here Malevich had to abandon Suprematism.
The painting of the performance is more like some kind of caricature, carelessly executed on paper between cases. In front of us we see three naked men who have similar appearance and build. One has a different hair color from the other men, as well as a beard. He is even missing a face. Kazimir Malevich decided to leave him with a simple white oval.
At the time, it is quite possible that Malevich wanted to copy the patterns that were previously installed on the beaches. These were such large templates in which you could insert your face, and you had the opportunity to be photographed in a different, unlike yourself in the present image. It is the athletic structure of the figures depicted that brings this idea to mind. Exactly such, were drawn on the beach templates. The painter, tauntingly, as if offering anyone who wishes to frame his face under an empty oval.
It is very hard to understand why the swimmers have hardly any toes visible. Some critics believe that the poorly rendered fingers of the characters indicate that the characters on the canvas have no sense of life. All the faceless outlines of the people in Malevich’s paintings are a kind of spiritual energy, which can be compared to a fresco in a church.
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The background is structured by broad horizontal stripes in varying colors – blues, pinks, reds, yellows – creating a visual barrier between the figures and the viewer. These bands do not blend seamlessly; instead, they are delineated with sharp edges, reinforcing the overall feeling of fragmentation and artificiality. The color choices contribute to an atmosphere that feels both somber and unsettling.
The painting’s subtexts seem to revolve around themes of identity, conformity, and perhaps a critique of societal structures. The uniformity of the two figures on either side suggests a loss of individuality or a forced adherence to a particular ideal. Their pale coloring might symbolize a lack of vitality or emotional depth. In contrast, the central figures vibrant beard could represent an assertion of difference, rebellion, or a suppressed passion struggling to surface.
The rigid posture and frontal presentation of all three figures evoke a sense of surveillance or judgment. The horizontal bands in the background can be interpreted as symbolic barriers – social, political, or psychological – that confine and define these individuals. Overall, the work conveys a feeling of alienation and existential questioning through its unsettling imagery and deliberate distortion of form.