Reaper on Red Background is a famous oil painting reproduction created by Kazimir Malevich in 1912-13, exploring the human figure through a Cubist-inspired pictorial vocabulary. This painting is one of Malevich’s most well-known works and showcases his innovative art theories and techniques that revolutionized abstract art forever.
Malevich was a Russian avant-garde artist who founded the Suprematist movement and invented Suprematism. His paintings were characterized by minimal geometric forms, flat colors, and bold lines that aimed to depict spiritual ideals rather than physical reality. Faktura, a term introduced by Vladimir Markov, is crucial for understanding Malevich’s art and Suprematism as it emphasizes the tactile qualities of materials used in creating artworks.
Reaper on Red Background depicts an abstract human figure with sharp angles against deep red background color. The painting illustrates the impact of Black Square which would become one of Malevich’s most important works painted in 1915. With this artwork, he fully embraced his style from traditional modes of representation while completely disregarding meaning or reference to anything outside itself through its supramaterial form. Today Reaper on Red Background stands as an example of how modernism was able to change the way artists approached abstraction while paving the way for future contemporary artists to explore new edges within modernism’s world-changing landscape.
