Russian Art
Malevich, K. S.
"Two Male Figures". 1928 - 1932
Notes: Two Male Figures.
The forced unionization of farms hindered agricultural development and, in turn, produced catastrophic famine in the winter of 1932-1933. Malevich intended his figures to convey the effects of the misery, starvation, and death that engulfed Russia during the period.
German critic Adolph Donath accurately described the artist's stiff, faceless figures as machine-like. Indeed, theirs are heads without faces, postures without words. They step up to the picture plane and seemingly invite the viewer into the abyss of colors, a space which has contradictory connotations. Frightening perhaps in its emptiness, its hues, however, seem rich with hope.
Malevich created a terrible beauty -- one that commanded attention and inspired action. These works still have that power when one approaches them with an understanding of the times in which they were created.
