Composition with the Mona Lisa 1914

This is Kazimir Malevich’s "Composition with the Mona Lisa," and it looks like it was made with oil on canvas. What a conversation this painting invites! Imagine Malevich, brush in hand, layering these blocks of color. There’s a real back and forth, a dance of trial and error. See that black rectangle hovering over the Mona Lisa? It feels so assertive, like he’s trying to block something out, or maybe question the whole idea of beauty and art history. I love how the textures play against each other; the flatness of the shapes against the suggestion of depth. He's scratching at the surface, almost fighting with the image, but also, maybe, making peace with the past. It's like he’s saying, ‘Okay, Mona Lisa, you’ve had your day. Now let's see what else painting can do.’ We’re all in this ongoing exchange of ideas, each of us trying to figure out what art can be, what it can mean.