Winter Landscape 1930

Kazimir Malevich created this painting with oils on canvas, materials central to the historical project of fine art. But look closely, and you’ll see that he's treating the paint in a very particular way. The crispness of the geometric forms, from the cubic houses to the cylindrical trees, suggests a deliberate process of blocking in color. See how the planes of color are carefully abutted to one another? Malevich’s approach seems less about illusionism, and more about the way distinct shapes can assemble into a scene. He was working in a Russia undergoing rapid industrialization. This artistic style can be interpreted as a commentary on the effects of mass production and consumerism on everyday life. Even a rustic winter scene could be re-imagined in terms of geometric elements, almost like parts in a machine. By understanding this painting through its materials and its making, we appreciate how Malevich challenged the boundaries between traditional landscape painting and the aesthetics of a rapidly changing world.