Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) was a Russian avant-garde artist who created the movement known as Suprematism. It was a pioneering approach to abstract art dedicated to the appreciation of art through pure feeling. His painting "Black Square" is a landmark in the development of abstract art. Born in Ukraine in a family of Polish descent, Kazimir Malevich grew up near the city of Kyiv when it was part of an administrative division of the Russian empire. His family fled from what is currently the Kopyl Region of Belarus after a failed Polish uprising. Kazimir was the oldest of 14 children. His father operated a sugar mill. As a child, Malevich enjoyed drawing and painting, but he knew nothing of the modern art trends beginning to emerge in Europe. His first formal art studies took place when he received training in drawing at the Kyiv School of Art from 1895 through 1896.
