Black Cross (painting)
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| Black Cross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Kazimir Malevich |
| Year | 1915–1924 |
| Medium | Oil on linen |
| Dimensions | 79 cm × 79 cm (31 in × 31 in) |
| Location | Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris |
Black Cross (also known as The Black Cross) is an iconic oil painting by Kazimir Malevich. The first version was done in 1915. From the mid-1910s, Malevich abandoned any trace of figurature or representation from his paintings in favour of pure abstraction.[1][2]
Malevich chose a square format for this painting. Against a white parchment background, a black cross occupies the entire canvas. It is a Greek cross, one of the most common forms of Christian crosses, in use since the 4th century. These crosses are characterized by the fact that all the arms are of equal length. In the case of this painting, the arms are oriented horizontally and vertically.[3]