Spring Landscape with a Cottage 

Kazimir Malevich painted this landscape with a cottage using oil on canvas. Notice the thick application of the paint. It gives a tactile quality to the scene, almost like textured plaster on a building's facade. The brushstrokes themselves are very visible; in the clouds, you can clearly see how the artist built up layers of paint to create depth and volume. Look at the fence, each stroke of the brush represents the form and texture of the wood. What is interesting here is that Malevich’s aesthetic was about to be transformed into pure abstraction. In a way, you could see this painting as an example of pre-fabricated folk art, the cottage in particular being a symbol of pre-industrial life. But even here he can't resist exploring the materiality of paint, building it up, and using it to create a sense of form and depth. Ultimately, looking closely at the materials and making processes helps us understand the full range of meaning in the work. It’s a reminder that even in the most radical art, the hand of the maker is always present.