Russian Art
Malevich, K. S.
"On the Boulevard". 1903
Notes: On the Boulevard.
Painted with a clear debt to Impressionism, one of several styles with which Malevich experimented, this canvas gives little indication of its creator's aptitude for remarkable changes in approach.
The depiction of figures and activities along a promenade constituted an appealing range of subject matter for some early twentieth-century painters. Perhaps the best-known treatment of this theme is the work of 1902, entitled "Papageienalee" ("Path of Parrots") by the German Impressionist, Max Lieberman (1847-1935). This celebrated picture shows mothers and children strolling along a path in the park along which parrots are displayed. Whether in fact Malevich knew of this picture by 1903 is immaterial to an understanding that, at this moment, both artists were painting to the taste of the "grande bourgeoise."
