malevich portrait of m v matiushin 1913 Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)
Kazimir Malevich – malevich portrait of m v matiushin 1913
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Painter: Kazimir Malevich
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In 1913, the famous artist K. S. Malevich painted an unusual painting, Portrait of Matyushin, in the style of the then-new art movement, Cubo-Futurism. Unlike most of its adherents, Malevich did not use only monochrome colors in his work. He painted it in oil, using a rich color palette and depicting in different corners of the picture realistic elements, perfectly conveying the dynamics of the composition and incompatible. Though the painting is abstract, an attentive person can see her forehead and dark hair parted with a straight parting and some details of her clothes on a canvas.
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Description of the painting "Portrait of Matyushin" by Kazimir Malevich
In 1913, the famous artist K. S. Malevich painted an unusual painting, Portrait of Matyushin, in the style of the then-new art movement, Cubo-Futurism. Unlike most of its adherents, Malevich did not use only monochrome colors in his work. He painted it in oil, using a rich color palette and depicting in different corners of the picture realistic elements, perfectly conveying the dynamics of the composition and incompatible.
Though the painting is abstract, an attentive person can see her forehead and dark hair parted with a straight parting and some details of her clothes on a canvas. It is thanks to these "snippets" that one can understand that this is a portrait, and not a collection of geometric shapes painted in different colors.
The first thing that catches the viewer’s eye is a long horizontal stripe of many white rectangles running along the center of the canvas. As is well known, Matyushin was not only a great painter but also a composer, and Malevich decided to emphasize his musical talent in his work. Of course, the white squares are the keys of the piano. The artist also alludes to the uniqueness of Matyushin’s musical system with the absence of the usual black keys.
Malevich perfectly conveyed the dynamics of the abstract image. Big figures seem to disintegrate into a multitude of smaller ones, which in their turn are also subject to disintegration. Portrait of Matyushin is undoubtedly one of the best works of art, executed in a combination of cubist and futuristic styles.
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The color palette is restrained, dominated by muted earth tones – ochres, browns, grays – punctuated by flashes of red and blue. These chromatic accents serve to highlight certain planes and create visual tension within the overall structure. The application of paint appears layered, with visible brushstrokes contributing to a sense of dynamism and textural complexity.
A horizontal band, composed of small rectangular shapes, cuts across the middle ground. Its purpose remains ambiguous; it could be interpreted as an attempt at spatial demarcation or perhaps a symbolic element relating to the subject’s profession – a musical keyboard is suggested by its form. The figures head appears tilted slightly, hinting at introspection or contemplation.
The work seems preoccupied with exploring the nature of perception and representation itself. It suggests that identity is not fixed but rather a collection of perspectives and fragmented experiences. Theres an underlying sense of intellectual inquiry; the artist isn’t simply depicting a person, but engaging in a dialogue about how we understand and construct meaning through visual language. The deliberate ambiguity invites viewers to actively participate in the process of interpretation, piecing together the fragments to form their own understanding of the subject.