by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 2, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Introduction
A pale square leans within a second, slightly warmer square in Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition: White on White. The difference is small enough to disappear in a poor reproduction. Look longer, and the inner shape separates from its ground: one edge seems firmer than another, the paint carries visible brush texture, and the square sits away from the centre rather than forming a perfect nested design. Malevich made this oil painting in 1918. Its near absence of strong colour was a further experiment within Suprematism, the nonobjective art he had introduced publicly in 1915, rather than an untouched canvas or a geometrically exact diagram. [1]
The Museum of Modern Art in New York records the work as a 79.4-centimetre square, accession 817.1935. White on White is a useful short name, but the museum’s fuller title identifies this particular canvas among several white Suprematist works. Malevich’s shift to pale forms did not erase the physical painting: small changes in tone, edge and surface became the means by which a viewer can see form at all. [1]
At a Glance
- ArtistKazimir Malevich
- Museum titleSuprematist Composition: White on White
- Date1918
- MediumOil on canvas
- Size79.4 × 79.4 cm
- CollectionMuseum of Modern Art, New York, 817.1935
- First public contextThe white series was shown at the 1919 Tenth State Exhibition in Moscow; a MoMA study identifies this canvas beside a black painting by Aleksandr Rodchenko
Contents
- Seeing the two whites
- From black and colour to white
- Moscow in 1919: a white painting beside a black one
- A later journey through Berlin and Hannover
- What the painting changed—and what it did not
- Frequently asked questions
Where this work sits in Malevich’s career
The Knife Grinder
1912–13White on White
1918Sportsmen (Russian Museum canvas)
1928–1932Girl with a Comb in Her Hair
1932–33Girl with a Red Staff
1932–33Watch: Kazimir Malevich
Three short films place Black Square, the 1915 exhibition and Malevich’s later work in context.
Kazimir Malevich | TateShots
A curator introduces Black Square, the 0.10 exhibition and Malevich’s later work.
Watch on YouTubeSeeing the two whites
This painting rewards an ordinary, practical adjustment: move attention between the inner square and the area surrounding it. The inner form is cooler and a little more distinct in some passages; the field behind it is warmer and more varied. Neither area is a blank reserve of untreated canvas. MoMA describes oil paint, subtle tonal differences and a textured surface. The old description that one of the squares “has not been painted at all” cannot account for that material evidence. [1]
The square is tilted and off-centre. Its edges do not form four mathematically identical lines, and its corners do not sit at equal distances from the canvas boundary. The shape seems to move because it refuses the repose of a square perfectly aligned with the frame. Yet there is no depicted room, sky or landscape providing a conventional sense of depth. The apparent floating is generated by the small difference between two painted whites and by the relation of one quadrilateral to another.
Distance changes the picture. From across a room the inner square may nearly disappear, leaving an overall pale field. Up close, brushwork and adjustments of white resist that simplification. A screen can exaggerate or flatten the contrast according to brightness and colour settings, so a reproduction should be treated as a guide to the arrangement rather than an exact substitute for the painted surface. MoMA’s labels repeatedly draw attention to the artist’s hand and the uneven edges. [1]
The painting is therefore sparse but not empty. Its restrained vocabulary makes each choice consequential: the angle of the inner form, its distance from the surrounding frame, the slight distinction between the whites and the visible handling of paint. A viewer need not discover a hidden symbol in the square for these relationships to become active. They are the content that the object presents.
From black and colour to white
Three years before this canvas, Malevich displayed a group of nonobjective paintings at the 0.10 exhibition in Petrograd. The first Black Square occupied a conspicuous position high in a corner of his room. Other works tested crosses, circles and coloured planes against light grounds. In the 1916 Suprematist Composition with a tilted blue rectangle, overlapping colours create multiple directions across a tall canvas. White on White changes the scale of the contrast: the relationship now depends on differences inside a narrow range of pale paint. [2], [3]
It is easy to call this a final step, as though Malevich had started with black, added colour, and then removed everything until nothing remained. The sequence helps compare three pictorial decisions, but it does not describe all his work or prove that he intended an inevitable end to painting. He made several white Suprematist compositions rather than a single terminal picture, and his later work extended into teaching, architectural models and renewed figuration. This canvas is a specific experiment within that longer career.
Suprematism asked what a painting could do without referring to recognisable objects. The tilted square in White on White is not a window onto an unseen real world. Its movement and apparent openness come from the arrangement of paint on a support. Malevich’s writings of the period connect nonobjective art with a more expansive vision of space and creative freedom. Their publication dates and translations vary, so it is safer to explain this work through the object and documented exhibition than to attach an unattributed sentence from a later compilation directly to it. [1], [4]
Moscow in 1919: a white painting beside a black one
The white series entered public discussion at the Tenth State Exhibition of Nonobjective Creation and Suprematism in Moscow in 1919. Art historian Margarita Tupitsyn, writing for MoMA, identifies this particular White on White canvas as having hung beside Aleksandr Rodchenko’s Non-Objective Painting no. 80 (Black on Black). She cites research by Aleksandra Shatskikh and the 1919 exhibition catalogue. The original catalogue has been identified as an extant document, but its full checklist and room arrangement have not been verified here; the pairing should therefore remain attributed to Tupitsyn rather than expanded into an invented reconstruction of the entire wall. [5], [6]
Their proximity gave viewers two very different tests of what a single colour range might do. Malevich’s pale square moves within a pale field; Rodchenko’s dark work uses black against black. Neither can be reduced to a printed label saying simply “white” or “black.” Surface, shape and position decide whether the picture remains visible. The two artists were also participants in wider debates about nonobjective art, its materials and its place in the social upheaval after the Russian Revolution. Tupitsyn reads the works as a dialogue within those debates. That is an art-historical interpretation, not a direct statement by each artist that the paintings were designed as a matched pair. [5]
MoMA’s own gallery labels have linked the painting’s formal freedom to the possibilities opened by revolution. Such context matters in a work made in 1918, amid political change and civil conflict. It does not license a one-to-one political allegory in which the white square stands for a particular leader, party or event. The canvas gives no pictured political actors. Its documented setting and Malevich’s writings can inform interpretation while the object’s precise painted choices remain in view. [1], [5]
A later journey through Berlin and Hannover
The painting travelled with a large group of Malevich’s works to Berlin in 1927. MoMA’s provenance record says Malevich left the works in the care of architect Hugo Häring when he returned to Leningrad. In 1930 Häring transferred the group to Alexander Dorner, director of the Provinzialmuseum in Hannover. Dorner exhibited works from the group and later stored them as the Nazi regime came to power. These movements are a custody history; they should not be simplified into an unsupported claim that Malevich donated this canvas to Dorner. [1]
In 1935 Alfred Barr, acting for MoMA, bought some works from Dorner and borrowed others. MoMA records White on White in New York from 1935, describes the relevant group as remaining on extended loan until its acquisition in 1963, and states that its acquisition was confirmed by agreement with Malevich’s estate in 1999. The museum’s object credit preserves that 1999 confirmation. This is more precise than saying simply that the painting was “given” to the museum in the 1930s. [1]
That path helps explain why an artist whose most famous early square remained in Moscow is represented by this later pale canvas in New York. The painting was seen, reproduced and interpreted in new settings after Malevich could no longer travel to recover the works he had left in Germany. Its institutional history is part of how it became familiar to audiences outside the cities where it was made and first exhibited.
What the painting changed—and what it did not
The work’s radical quality lies in how much of painting it seems to relinquish while still insisting on paint. A conventional picture can use colour and shading to model things in a recognisable setting. Malevich used the slightest tonal separation to make one form perceptible against another, with no depicted object to hold attention. The surface texture and imprecise outlines stop the composition from becoming a purely mechanical exercise. [1]
That does not make White on White the first abstract painting, nor a demonstration that all later art was destined to become monochrome. Malevich was working among other artists who pursued different forms of abstraction. The 1919 pairing with Rodchenko is valuable precisely because it shows distinct approaches in the same discussion. A single term such as “nonobjective” joined their experiments without making them identical. [5]
The canvas can also be encountered without an obligation to feel uplifted, healed or spiritually transformed. MoMA’s interpretive labels discuss infinity, movement and transcendence; these are useful ways to understand one strand of Malevich’s theory. They are not reliable reports of every viewer’s response. Some visitors may find the picture serene, others difficult to see or oddly material. The work permits that range because it offers little narrative instruction and asks for sustained attention to a small visual difference.
Placed beside Black Square, the white painting makes the earlier work’s dark centre appear emphatic. Placed beside the colourful 1916 Suprematist Composition, it makes tonal variation and brush surface stand forward. Those comparisons clarify choices, not a simple hierarchy in which one painting invalidates another. The square in White on White still has a shape, a position and a worked edge. Its quietness is carefully made.
Questions about White on White
Is the second square unpainted canvas?
No. MoMA records an oil painting with subtle differences of white, visible brushwork and a textured surface. The inner square and surrounding ground are both parts of the painted object. [1]
Is it a perfect square inside a perfect square?
The canvas is square, but the inner form is skewed, off-centre and irregular at its edges. Those differences produce much of the painting’s apparent movement. [1]
Was this work at the 1919 Moscow exhibition?
Margarita Tupitsyn’s MoMA study identifies this canvas beside Rodchenko’s Black on Black at the Tenth State Exhibition. The full original checklist and installation arrangement need separate verification before assigning it an exact position or catalogue number. [5]
Where is it now?
The painting is in MoMA’s collection as 817.1935. Gallery display changes, so its current on-view status should be checked on the museum’s object page before a visit. [1]
Documented Malevich collection records
Explore 665 catalogued source objects from museums and archives, including 87 exact links to local artwork pages. Records include works, print impressions, book components and archival items; they are not a deduplicated or complete oeuvre. Medium labels are grouped into broad English categories. Titles link to local artwork pages where available.
| Artwork title | Date | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| "Front line soldier" (Ratnik 1-go razriada) | Δεκαετία 1920 | Photograph |
| [Le Cheval blanc] | [circa 1930 - 1931] | Painting |
| [Sensation du danger] | [1930 - 1931] | Painting |
| A Game in Hell, Petrograd, 1913 (2nd expanded edition) | 1913 | Book |
| A Game in Hell: A Poem (Igra v adu: Poema) | 1914 | Book |
| A Peasant Woman Goes for Water | 1913 | |
| A pork-butcher came around to Lodz and we said "Good day." From Lodz to neighboring Radom he passed, and left behind one sorry ass. (Podoshel kolbasnik k Lodzi / my skazali : 'Pan dobrodzi!' Nu, a s Lodz'iu riadom Radom / i ushel s podbitym zadom.) | c. 1914 | |
| Alogisme 1. Portret Moskovskoy Damy (Alogisme 1. Portret van een Moskouse dame) | 1914 | Drawing |
| Alogisme 2. Vis, zaag, lepel, telegraafpaal | 1914 | Drawing |
| Alogisme 22. Malorossiyanin (Alogisme 22. Een kleine Rus) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Alogisme 23. Sobol, koshka (Alogisme 23. Sabel, kat) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Alogisme 29. Derevnya | 1915 | Drawing |
| Alogisme 3. Chastichnoe zatmenie (Alogisme 3. Gedeeltelijke eclips) | 1914 | Drawing |
| Alogisme 4. Apteka (Alogisme 4. Apotheek) | 1914 | Drawing |
| Alpha | 1923 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| An Austrian was going to Radzivily | 1914 | |
| An Austrian was going to Radzivily | 1914 | |
| Analytical Chart | 1924–27 | Drawing |
| Analytical Chart | 1924–27 | Drawing |
| Analytical Chart | 1924–27 | Drawing |
| Analytical Chart | 1924–27 | Drawing |
| Analytical Chart | 1924–27 | Drawing |
| Announcement for Malevich's lecture in Orenburg | 1917-1920 | |
| Apple Tree in Blossom | c. 1930 | Painting |
| Architecton Alpha | 1920 | Sculpture or object |
| Architecton Gota | 1923 (?) | Sculpture or object |
| Architectonische constructie | 1917 (versie ca. 1925) | Drawing |
| Architectons and Figurines | Späte 1920er Jahre | Sculpture or object |
| Architecturaal-kosmische compositie | 1920 (latere versie (1927?)) | Drawing |
| Architectural construction | ca. 1917 | Drawing |
| Aritmetica | 1913 | Drawing |
| Aritmetica | 1913 | Drawing |
| Arkhitekton Zeta | 1926 | Photograph |
| At Harvesting (Marfa and Vanka) | 1928-1929 | Painting |
| Aveniriens | vers 1931 - 1932 | Drawing |
| Aviator | 1914 | Painting |
| Aviator v Pobede nad solntsem (Vliegenier in Overwinning op de zon) | 1913 (versie ca. 1929) | Drawing |
| Baadsters op de rug gezien | 1910 | Painting |
| Back cover from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Back cover from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Bader | 1911 | Drawing |
| Betende Bäuerin | 1933 | Drawing |
| Biddende figuur | motief ca 1922, versie voor 1927 | Drawing |
| Birkenhain | um 1905 - 06 | Painting |
| Black Circle | c. 1923 | Painting |
| Black Cross | c. 1923 | Painting |
| Black quadrilateral | 1915 | Painting |
| Black Square | c. 1923 | Painting |
| Black Square and Circle | 1920-1921 | Drawing |
| Black Square and White Cylindrical Form | 1915 | Drawing |
| Black Square, Second State | 1915/20 | Drawing |
| Blacksmith | Study. 1933 | Painting |
| Blestifze (Pencils) | 1917–1918 | Drawing |
| Boer met baard | ca 1930 | Drawing |
| Boerenvrouw in het veld | ca. 1929-1930 | Drawing |
| Boerenvrouw met emmers | 1912 | Painting |
| Book of Selected Poems (Kniga izbrannykh Stikhotvorenii) | 1930 | Book |
| Boy (Vanka) | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Boy wuth knapsack / Mal'chyk s rantsem | 1915 | |
| Brooch | 1920 | Sculpture or object |
| Brooch | 1920 | Sculpture or object |
| Bubnovy Valet 21. Boerenvrouw met kind | 1911-1912 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Bubnovy Valet 40. Portret (van M.F. Larionov?) | 1910 | Drawing |
| Bubnovy Valet 41. Na uglu stoit apteka, lyubov sushit tseloveka (De drogist is op de hoek, van liefde droogt een man uit) | 1910-1911 (versie ca. 1930) | Drawing |
| Bubnovy Valet 42. Portret moei rodstvennitsy (Bubnovy Valet 42. Portret van mijn familielid) | 1911 | Drawing |
| Bubnovy Valet 43. Kop van een boer | 1912 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Bubnovy Valet 44. Dansend paar | 1912 | Drawing |
| Bubnovy Valet 57. Lopende man | 1911 | Drawing |
| Bubnovy valet 8. Kop van een boer | 1912 | Drawing |
| Budetliyansky silach (Futuristische sterke man) | 1913 (versie 1915) | Drawing |
| Bêta | avant 1926 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| Car and Lady | Photograph | |
| Carpenter | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Carré noir | [1923 - 1930] | Sculpture or object |
| Chelovek v ochkakh (Man met bril) | ca 1929 | Drawing |
| Compositie 1 z (Supremus nr. 67) | 1916 (versie jaren 1920) | Drawing |
| Compositie 10 t (Suprematisme: constructief moment) | 1917 | Drawing |
| Compositie 11 t (Supremus nr.18: constructievorming afhankelijk van de beweging naar een bol ) | 1916 | Drawing |
| Compositie 13 t (Supremus nr 38) | 1915-1916 | Drawing |
| Compositie 13 t (Supremus nr 38) | 1915-1916 (gedrukt 1920, annotaties jaren 1920) | |
| Compositie 14 t Oshchushchenie elektrichestva (Compositie 14 t Gevoel van electriciteit) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Compositie 15 k (Suprematisme) | 1916 (versie begin jaren 1920) | Drawing |
| Compositie 15 q (Supremus nr. 118) | 1918 | Drawing |
| Compositie 16 t (Suprematisme: groot zwart trapezium en vierkant tussen rechthoeken en lijnen) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Compositie 2 i (Suprematisme: gecombineerd gevoel: cirkel en vierkant) | 1916 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Compositie 2 t (Verlengd vierkant met elementen overdwars) | 1915 (versie ca. 1920) | Drawing |
| Compositie 2 z Obshchushchenie magnita (Compositie 2 z Gevoel van een magneet) | 1916 (hernomen in 1919, versie jaren 1920) | Drawing |
| Compositie 3 t | 1916 | Drawing |
| Compositie 4 l Suprematisme van de geest | 1919 | Drawing |
| Compositie 4 t (Suprematisme: cirkel tussen rechthoeken en driehoeken) | 1916 | Drawing |
| Compositie 4 z (Supremus nr. 84) | 1916 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Compositie 5 l Suprematisme van de geest | 1919 | Drawing |
| Compositie 6 d (Tekening verwant aan ‘Huis in aanbouw’) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Compositie 6 t Obshchushchenie vremeni (Compositie 6 t Gevoel van tijd) | 1916 | Drawing |
| Compositie 9 b. Fevralizm kak emotionizm (Compositie 9 b. Februarisme als emotionisme) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Compositie 9 h (Suprematisme: kruis en drie rechthoeken) | 1916 (versie 1920) | Drawing |
| Compositie 9 k (Suprematisme: zeven rechthoeken) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Compositie 9 t (Suprematisme: vier ruimtelijke elementen tegen een zwart trapezium) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Composition 1 e (Suprematisme: vierkant op diagonaal vlak) | 1915 | Drawing |
| Composition 1 t | [1916 / vers 1920] | Drawing |
| Composition 14 f | [1918] | Drawing |
| Composition 15 t | 1916 | Drawing |
| Composition 2 a | [1917 - 1918] | Drawing |
| Composition 3 z | [1919 / avant 1930] | Drawing |
| Composition 5 x | [été 1915] | Drawing |
| Composition 5 x | [été 1915] | Drawing |
| Composition alogique | [1915] | Drawing |
| Composition with La Gioconda (Partial Eclipse) | 1914 | Painting |
| Compositions 11 R | circa 1915–16 | Drawing |
| Construction 5 h | 1916 | Drawing |
| Costume study for the Budetlyan Athlete in Victory over the Sun | 1913 | Drawing |
| Cow and Violin | 1913 | Painting |
| Cow and Violin from On New Systems in Art (O Novykh Sistemakh Visk Usstve) | 1911–19 | |
| Croix [noire] | [1915] | Painting |
| Croix noire | [vers 1923 - 1926] | Sculpture or object |
| Dame | 1915 | Drawing |
| Dame an der Straßenbahnhaltestelle | 1913 | Drawing |
| Dame bij reclamezuil | 1914 | Painting |
| De gardist | 1913-1914 | Other |
| De houthakker (recto) / Boerenvrouwen in kerk (verso) | 1912 | Painting |
| De likdoornsnijder | 1911 | Drawing |
| De likdoornsnijder | 1911 | Drawing |
| De provincie | 1910 | Painting |
| De tuinman | 1911 | Painting |
| De vloerboeners | 1911 | Drawing |
| Der Häftling | 1930 | Drawing |
| Der Tod eines Menschen, gleichzeitig im Flugzeug und der Eisenbahn | um 1913 | |
| Desk and Room (legacy site: Bureau and Room) | 1913 | Painting |
| Dessin de Lissitzky d'après "Supremus n° 58, composition dynamique jaune et noire", 1916, de Malevitch | [1924] | Drawing |
| Deux plans de villes | [1916 / avant 1930] | Drawing |
| Deux plans en extension | [1916 - 1919] | Drawing |
| Diagramm | around 1917/1918 | Drawing |
| Die Hochzeit | 1903 | Other |
| Die Waschfrau | 1911 | Painting |
| Dorp | ca. 1906 | Other |
| Dorpje | 1908 | Drawing |
| Drei Köpfe | after 1930 | Drawing |
| Drie boerenvrouwen | 1917-1919 of eind jaren 1920 | Drawing |
| Drie figuren in een landschap | ca. 1928-1930 | Drawing |
| Drie naakte vrouwen en een kind, peren plukkend | 1909 | Drawing |
| Drie staande vrouwen | 1930 | Drawing |
| Drie vrouwenfiguren | ca 1905-1906 | Drawing |
| Druckstock für Holzschnitt | 1920 | |
| Dynamic Construction | 1923 | Photograph |
| Dynamic Figure from On New Systems in Art (O Novykh Sistemakh V Iskusstve) | 1911 | |
| Dynamic Suprematism | 1915/16 | Painting |
| Dynamisch suprematisme | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Een Engelsman in Moskou | 1914 | Painting |
| Een paar onder bomen | ca 1929 | Drawing |
| Elegant gezelschap in een park | ca 1908 | Drawing |
| Elementarer Suprematismus | 1917 | Drawing |
| Eléments d'architectone | [après 1924] | Drawing |
| Eléments non identifiés | [1923 - 1935] | Sculpture or object |
| Engelsman in Moskou | 1913-1914 | Drawing |
| Entwurf für das Gemälde 'Die roten Häuser' | 1910 | Drawing |
| Entwurf für die Bemalung der Pfeiler aus der Serie von Entwürfen für die Ausgestaltung des Roten Theaters in Leningrad | 1931 | Drawing |
| Entwurf für eine Deckenmalerei im Roten Theater in Leningrad | 1931 | Drawing |
| Eskiz k portretu Roslavtsa. Pesn golubym oblakam (Schets voor portret van de componist Roslavets. Lied van de blauwe wolken) | 1907-1908 | Drawing |
| Etude de paysan | fin 1911 | Drawing |
| Etyud suprematis 52 sistema A 4 | 1916-1917 (versie 1920-1927) | Drawing |
| Explodity (Vzorval') | 1913 | Book |
| Explodity (Vzorval') | 1913 | Book |
| Explodity (Vzorval) | 1913 | Book |
| Female Figure | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Female portrait | ca. 1910-1911 | Painting |
| Female Torso | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Female Torso | 1928-1929 | Painting |
| Figur mit ausgebreiteten Armen, ein Kreuz bildend | 1933 | Drawing |
| Figuren in Schwarz und Weiß | 1928/1930 | Drawing |
| Flower Seller | 1930 | Painting |
| Folio 1 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 15 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 17 verso from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 18 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 19 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 19 from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Folio 20 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 23 from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Folio 25 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 27 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 27 from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Folio 29 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 31 from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Folio 32 verso from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 34 verso from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 37 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 4 verso from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 7 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Folio 9 from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Footballer / Futbolist | 1915 | |
| Four Squares | 1915 | Painting |
| Fragmenten van een tekst over het suprematisme | 1927 | Other |
| From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism (Ot kubizma i futurizma k suprematizmu) | 1916 | Book |
| Front cover from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Fruit plukken / Overvloed | 1909 | Painting |
| Fuhrleute | 1909-1910 | Drawing |
| Full portrait of Malevich | 1931 | Photograph |
| Futuristische draak | 1913 | |
| Futurizm: dvizhenie cheloveka po lestnitse (Futurisme: beweging van een man op een trap) | 1919 | Drawing |
| Gebet II | um 1913 | |
| Gesellschaft in Zylindern | 1907 | Drawing |
| Girl in the Countryside | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Girls in a Field | 1928-1929 | Painting |
| Gliad', pogliad' uzh blizko Visly. Nemtsev puchit, znachit kislo. | 1914/1918? | |
| Glyad, poglyad, uzh blizko Visly | 1914 | |
| Golgatha | around 1911 | Drawing |
| Gota | 1923 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| Gota 2-a | 1923 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| Grafik ... | ca. 1923 | Other |
| Grafik dvizheniya tvorcheskikh edinits v beskonechnosti | ca. 1923 | Other |
| Grammatica | 1913 | Drawing |
| Harvesting | Study for a painting. 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Head of a Peasant | Early 1930s | Painting |
| Head of a Peasant | 1928-1929 | Painting |
| Head of a Peasant | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Hiëratisch suprematistisch kruis (groot kruis in zwart over rood op wit) | 1920-1921 | Painting |
| Houses of the Future Leningrad: Pilot's House | 1924 | Drawing |
| Huis, man, ladder | 1930-1931 | Drawing |
| Huit dessins suprématistes | [1917 / avant 1930] | Drawing |
| Huizen op het platteland | ca. 1906 | Other |
| Häuser und Kreuze (Golgatha) | 1930 | Drawing |
| I yu mane tor | ca. 1915 | Drawing |
| Igra v adu | 1914 | Other |
| Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1914 | Book |
| Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1914 | Book |
| Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1914 | Book |
| Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| II | 1913 | Drawing |
| Illustration for the book by Aleksei Kruchenykh and Velimir Khlebnikov "Igra v Adu»" (2nd edition, Moscow 1914) | 1914 | |
| Ils vont à l'église | 1928 - 1932 | Drawing |
| Into Wagons of the French, German Corpses Were Tightly Wrenched; Their English Brothers Carried Kegs Stuffed with Germans Who Lost Their Legs | c. 1914 | |
| Izbornik stikhov s poslesloviem rechiaria. 1907–1914 gg. (A Selection of Poems with an Afterword by the Wordsmith: 1907–1914) | 1914 | Book |
| Jnitsa | 1913 | Drawing |
| K.Malevich, M.Matiushin, A.Kruchenykh, St.Petersburg, December 1913 | 1913 | Photograph |
| K.Malevich, M.Matiushin, A.Kruchenykh, St.Petersburg, December 1913 | 1913 | Photograph |
| K.Malevich, M.Matiushin, A.Kruchenykh, St.Petersburg, December 1913 | 1913 | Photograph |
| Kabarett | 1930 | Drawing |
| Kazimir Malevich lying seriously ill in his bed, shortly before he died | 1935 | Photograph |
| Kettle with lid | 1923 | Sculpture or object |
| Komposition mit einer Figur | after 1930 | Drawing |
| Konstruktion | around 1915 | Drawing |
| Kop van een boer, kruis, en landschap | 1928-1929 | Drawing |
| Kop van een boerenmeisje | 1912 | Painting |
| Kop van een boerenvrouw | 1913 | Drawing |
| Kopf | 1930 | Drawing |
| Kopf | around 1930 | Drawing |
| Kostüm für das Stück 'Maskenball' | 1913 | Drawing |
| Krestyanka (Boerenvrouw) | 1913 | |
| Krestyanka idet po vodu (Boerin haalt water) | 1913 | |
| Kubisme 25. Avtoportret (Kubisme 25. Zelfportret) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Kubisme 6. Wandklok | 1913 | Drawing |
| Kubisme 9. Molitva (Kubisme 9. Gebed) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Kubistische compositie | ca 1925 | Drawing |
| Kubistische figuur staand op de rug gezien | 1912-1913 (versie ca. 1925) | Drawing |
| Kubofuturistische compositie met piano | 1913-1914 | Painting |
| Kubosuprematismus | 1916/1920 | Drawing |
| Kuppel des Volkshauses in Leningrad | 1931 | Drawing |
| Lamp - Musical Instruments | Δεκαετία 1920 | Photograph |
| Lamp / Muziekinstrumenten | 1913 | Painting |
| Landscape | 1911 | Painting |
| Landscape | c. 1906 | Painting |
| Landscape with a White House | 1928–1929 in Gasper-Hulvat 2012; Christie’s groups work with early-1930s landscapes | Painting |
| Landscape with a Yellow House (Winter Landscape) | c. 1906 | Painting |
| Landscape with Five Houses | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Landscape with house | c. 1905-1906 | Painting |
| Landschaft | around 1933/34 | Other |
| Landschaft (Der Winter) (Landscape (Winter)) | after 1927 | Painting |
| Lauf | 1917 | Drawing |
| Let's Grumble (Vozropshchem) | 1913 | Book |
| Liggende naakte vrouw met twee spelende kinderen | 1908 | Drawing |
| Lopende man met zaag onder de arm | ca. 1928-1929 | Drawing |
| Maaiende vrouw | 1913 | Drawing |
| Maaiende vrouw | 1913 | Drawing |
| Maaiende vrouw | 1913 | Drawing |
| Maaiende vrouw | 1912-1913 | Drawing |
| Magnetic construction | Drawing | |
| Magnetisch architectonische compositie | ca. 1920 (versie 1925-1926) | Drawing |
| Magnetischer Suprematismus | 1916 | Drawing |
| Male Portrait | 1933–1934 | Painting |
| Malevich archief | 1913-1927 | Other |
| Malevich with his students (UNOVIS) | Μάιος 1922 | Photograph |
| Man met zak | 1910-1911 | Painting |
| Manifesto handbill for the 0.10 exhibition | 1915 | Book |
| Mann in suprematistischer Landschaft | um 1930 - 31 | Painting |
| Mann mit Pferd | 1933 | Drawing |
| Manuscript with drawings, Page 27, 1 July 1916 | 1916 | Other |
| Maternity. Woman in Birth | 1908 | Drawing |
| Moederschap / Overvloed | 1910 | Painting |
| Morning in the Village after Snowstorm | 1912 | Painting |
| Muziekinstrument | 1913 | Drawing |
| Muziekinstrumenten | 1913-1914 | Drawing |
| Mystic Suprematism (Black Cross on Red Oval) | 1920–22 | Painting |
| Mysticus | 1930 | Drawing |
| Mystiek suprematisme (rood kruis op zwarte cirkel) | 1920-1922 | Other |
| Naakt met geheven handen | 1908 | Drawing |
| Nachtwandeling | 1909-1910 | Drawing |
| Nu i tresk-zhe, nu i grom-zhe byl ot niemtsev podlie Lomzhi. | 1914/1918? | |
| O Novykh Sistemakh V Iskusstve (On New Systems in Art) | 1919. (Prints executed 1910-1919). | Book |
| O novykh sistemakh v iskusstve. Statika i skorost' | 1919 | Other |
| O novykh systemakh v iskusstve. Statika i skorost' ( On New Systems in Art: Statics and Speed ) | 1919 | Book |
| O novykh systemakh v iskusstve: Statika i skorost’ (On New Systems in Art: Statics and Speed), Vitebsk | 1919 | Book |
| Ohne Titel | around 1904-1908 | Drawing |
| Ohne Titel | 1916 | Drawing |
| Ohne Titel | around 1931 | Drawing |
| Ohne Titel | 1916 | Drawing |
| Ohne Titel | around 1916 | Drawing |
| Ohne Titel (Untitled) | 1917–1930 | Drawing |
| Omslag van A. Kruchenykh en V. Khlebnikov, Igra v adu (Een spel in de hel) | 1913-1914 | |
| Omslag van Sezd Komitetov Derevenskoi Bednoty (Congres van Comités van Armoede op het Platteland) | 1918 | |
| Omslag van Troe (Het drietal) | 1913 | |
| Omslagontwerp voor Internatsional iskusstva (Internationale van de kunst) | 1918 | |
| Omslagontwerp voor N.N. Punin, Pervy tsikl lektsii (Eerste cyclus van lezingen) | 1920 | Drawing |
| Omslagontwerp voor Troe (Het drietal) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Ontwerp voor een architecton type 'Alfa' | ca 1925-1926 | Drawing |
| Ontwerp voor een architecton type Alfa | 1925-1929 | Drawing |
| Ontwerp voor een monument | ca. 1932-1933 | Drawing |
| Ontwerp voor een monument | ca. 1932-1933 | Drawing |
| Ontwerp voor een monument | ca. 1932-1933 | Drawing |
| Oogstende vrouwen/Het binnenhalen van de rogge II | 1912 | Other |
| Op de boulevard | 1910 | Painting |
| Opdoemende kruisvorm | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Ornements suprématistes | 1927 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| Ot kubizma i futurizma k suprematizmu. Novyi zhivopisnyi realizm (From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: New Painterly Realism) | 1916 | Book |
| Ot kubizma k suprematizmu. Novy zhivopisny realizm | 1916 | Other |
| Ot Sezanna do Suprematizma. Kritichesky ocherk | 1920 | Book |
| Ot Sezanna do Suprematizma. Kritichesky ocherk. | 1920 | Other |
| Paard en koets in beweging | 1913 | Drawing |
| Painterly Realism of a Boy with a Knapsack - Color Masses in the Fourth Dimension | 1915 | Painting |
| Painterly Realism of a Football Player—Color Masses in the 4th Dimension | Summer/fall 1915 | Painting |
| Patriotic poster against the Germans | 1914 | |
| Patriotic Poster Against the Germans | 1914 | |
| Patriotic Poster Against the Germans | 1914 | |
| Patriotic Poster Against the Germans | ||
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcard with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Patriotic propaganda postcards with verse by Vladimir Mayakovsky | 1914 | Book |
| Paysanne | [1912 / 1932] | Drawing |
| Paysanne et deux enfants | [1911 / avant 1930] | Drawing |
| Peasant | Between 1930–1932 | Painting |
| Peasant bringing Water | 1912 (Thema), 1920er Jahre (Ausführung) | Drawing |
| Peasant in a Field | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Peasant Woman | Early 1930s | Painting |
| Peasants | c. 1930 | Painting |
| Peasants | circa 1928 (NGA); 1928–1929 (Gasper-Hulvat) | Painting |
| Perfected Portrait of Ivan Kliun | 1913 | Painting |
| Peruyi Tsikl Lektsii | 1920 | Book |
| Pervyi tsikl lektsii chitannykh na kratkosrochnykh kursakh dlia uchitelei risovaniia (First Series of Lectures, Given at a Short-Term Course for Teachers of Drawing) | 1920 | Book |
| Plan d'éléments d'architectone | [après 1924] | Drawing |
| Planetaire constructie (magnetische kruisvorm) | 1916-1917 (ontwikkeld 1920-1922, latere versie (voor 1927)) | Drawing |
| Planetary-Architectural Suprematism | 1919-1920 | Drawing |
| Plate (folio 17) from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Plate (folio 21) from Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Plate (folio 22) from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Po utru iz Lvova vyshli | 1914 | |
| Pobeda nad solntsem. Opera (Victory over the Sun: An Opera) | 1913 | Book |
| Podoshel kolbasnik k Lodzi | 1914 | Drawing |
| Pokhoronnoe byuro (Begrafeniskantoor) | 1914-1915 | Drawing |
| Porosiata | Saint Petersburg: 1913 | Book |
| Porosiata (Piglets) | 1913 | Book |
| Portrait of a Youth | 1933 | Painting |
| Portrait of M. V. Matyushin | 1913 in gallery-magazine object record; 1913–14 in Tretyakov education page | Painting |
| Portrait of the Artist’s Wife | 1933 | Painting |
| Portret M.V. Matyushina (Portret van M.V. Matyushin) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Portret stroitelya usovershenstvovan (Verbeterd portret van een bouwer) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Portret van de vader van de kunstenaar | ca 1902-1903 | Painting |
| Portret van een jonge vrouw (waarschijnlijk Sofia Rafalovitch) | 1908-1909 | Drawing |
| Portret van een man (Aleksei Morgunov?) | 1912 | Other |
| Portret van M.V. Matyushin | 1913 | Drawing |
| Prayer | 1913 | Drawing |
| Prayer | 1913 | |
| Prayer | Study for a fresco painting. 1907 | Painting |
| Prayer (plate, folio 19) from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Primitiv (Schuhmacher) | 1910 | Drawing |
| Prografachnik | 1916 | Drawing |
| Projekt einer kosmischen Anlage | around 1917 | Drawing |
| Quadrat und Oval | 1915/1916 | Drawing |
| Quadrat und Viereck | 1914-1915 | Drawing |
| Red Cavalry | c. 1932 | Painting |
| Red House | 1932 | Painting |
| Red Square | Undated | Drawing |
| Red Square. Painterly Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions | 1915 | Painting |
| Reicher Mann | around 1910 | Drawing |
| Relaxing (Society in Top Hats) | 1908 | Drawing |
| Reservist of the First Division | fall-winter 1914 | Painting |
| Roar!: Gauntlets of 1908-1914 (Riav!: Perchatki 1908-1914) | 1914 | Book |
| Rotes Quadrat auf Schwarz | around 1922 | Other |
| Samovar | 1913 | Painting |
| Schema I: Construction of Axes of a Model; Schema II: Cubist Structure (Construction); Schema III: Cubist Constructed Drawing from On New Systems in Art (O Novykh Sistemakh Visk Usstve) | 1919 | |
| Schets vooor de opera Voyna (Oorlog): Topor molodets ne brekhal (de jongeman Topor heeft niet gelogen) | 1918 | Drawing |
| Schets voor de opera Voyna (Oorlog): Bas, day stakan (Bas, geef me een glas) | 1918 | Drawing |
| Schets voor de opera Voyna (Oorlog): gekruisigde tegen een lichte achtergrond | 1918 | Drawing |
| Schets voor de opera Voyna (Oorlog): gekruisigde tegen een zwarte achtergrond | 1918 | Drawing |
| Schets voor de opera Voyna (Oorlog): interieur met figuur en hangend kruisbeeld | 1918 | Drawing |
| Schets voor de opera Voyna (Oorlog): Odin tikho (een stille) | 1918 | Drawing |
| Schets voor een architectonische structuur | 1920-1921 (versie 1923-1924) | Drawing |
| Schetsboekomslag | Drawing | |
| Schneider, Allogismus, Aushang | around 1915 | Drawing |
| Schnitter | 1909-1910 | Drawing |
| Schnitterinnen | 1909-1910 | Drawing |
| Schnitterinnen (Reapers) | 1909–1910 | Drawing |
| Schwarzes Viereck | 1914-1915 | Drawing |
| Scène uit Anathema | 1909-1910 | |
| Segodnyashnye sooruzheniya | 1920 (versie 1923-1924) | Drawing |
| Segodnyashnye sooruzheniya | 1923-1924 / 2010 | Other |
| Selected Verse, 1907–1914 (Izbornik stikhov, 1907-1914) | 1915 | Book |
| Self-Portrait | Study for a fresco painting. 1907 | Painting |
| Self-Portrait | 1910–1911 | Drawing |
| Self-Portrait (Artist) | 1933 | Painting |
| Shel avstriec v Radzivily | 1914 | |
| Sieg über die Sonne 1913-1973 | 1973 | |
| Sieg über die Sonne 1913-1973 | 1973 / 2010 | Other |
| Simultaneous Death in an Airplane and at the Railway | (1913) | |
| Simultaneous Death of a Man in an Airplane and on the Railroad (plate, folio 15) from Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Sketch for "Vertical Suprematist Construction»" | Undated | Drawing |
| Sketch for a Stage Curtain for the Opera Victory over the Sun | 1928 | Drawing |
| Sketch for Agit-Train | περ. 1918 | Drawing |
| Slovo Kak Takavoe (The Word as Such) | 1913 | Book |
| Slovo kak takovoe (The Word as Such) | 1913 | Book |
| Smert cheloveka odnovremmeno na aeroplane i zhel. doroge (De gelijktijdige dood van een man in een vliegtuig en op de spoorlijn) | 1913 | |
| Sportsmen | 1928–1932 | Painting |
| Square and Cone | 1915 | Drawing |
| Staande boer | 1928-1929 | Drawing |
| Staande boer met emmer | 1930-1932 | Drawing |
| Staande boer met zeis bij het hooien | 1928-1929 | Drawing |
| Staande duivel | 1913-1914 | |
| Staande figuur | 1927 | Drawing |
| Staande mannenfiguur | 1930-1931 | Drawing |
| Staande vrouw en man Kop en schouders Vijf figuren met twee suprematistische elementen | 1918 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Staande vrouw met de armen over elkaar | ca 1930 | Drawing |
| Standing Figure | 1913 | Drawing |
| Standing Woman | circa 1930 | Drawing |
| Stikhi V. Maiakovskogo. Vypyt (The Poetry of V. Mayakovsky. [Vypyt]) | 1914 | Book |
| Still Life | c. 1910 | Drawing |
| Stroyuschiysya dom [House under construction] | 1915–16 (museum); reverse inscription 1914 distinguished from execution date | Painting |
| Studie für das Gemälde 'Die Rote Kavallerie' | 1930 | Drawing |
| Studie nach Picasso. Entwurf für das Bauhausbuch 'Die Gegenstandslose Welt' | 1926/1927 | Drawing |
| Studie nach Picasso. Entwurf für das Bauhausbuch 'Die Gegenstandslose Welt' | 1926/1927 | Drawing |
| Study for the rear curtain for Victory over the Sun | 1913 | Drawing |
| Study for the rear curtain for Victory over the Sun | 1913 | Drawing |
| Summer Landscape (Zomerlandschap) | circa 1929 | Painting |
| Suprematicheskoe postroenie N 118 (Suprematistische constructie nr. 118) | 1917-1918 (versie 1920) | Drawing |
| Suprematisch kruis (klein kruis in zwart over rood op wit) | 1920-1927 | Other |
| Suprematism | 1915 | Drawing |
| Suprematism | 1915 | Painting |
| Suprematism | 1915–1916 | Painting |
| Suprematism (Supremus No. 56) | 1915-16 | Painting |
| Suprematism (Supremus No. 58) | 1916 | Painting |
| Suprematism, 18th Construction | 1915 (artist's reverse inscription reads 1914) | Painting |
| Suprematisme | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme van de geest | 1919 | Other |
| Suprematisme. Oplossende constructie, vorm 78 | 1918 (latere versie (1927)) | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: Compositie 5 c | 1915-1917 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: drie overlappende rechthoeken | 1916-1917 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: drie snijdende vlakken, vervagend | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: elementen in wisselwerking, vervagend | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: formatie van rechthoeken | 1916 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: formatie van rechthoeken en vierkanten van verschillende grootte | 1916 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: formatie van rechthoeken van verschillende grootte | 1916 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: gevoelens van angst | 1917-1919 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: in tweeën | 1917-1919 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: krommingen en bogen | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: magnetische rechthoeken in stervorm Vier kaderlijnen | 1917-1919 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: magnetische staven | 1917 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: ovaal en rechthoek Twee staande vrouwen in een landschap Man met hoed (zogenaamd portret van Larionov?) Boer Vier figuren | 1916-1917 (latere versie) | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: Ovaal, boog en rechthoeken | 1917 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: twee snijdende vlakken, vervagend | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: twee snijdende vlakken, vervagend Suprematisme: drie snijdende vlakken, vervagend | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Suprematisme: zwart vierkant en witte rechthoek met rode strepen | 1917-1919 | Drawing |
| Suprematismus | 1912-1913 | Drawing |
| Suprematist Composition | 1915 | Drawing |
| Suprematist composition | c. 1916 | Drawing |
| Suprematist Composition | 1916 | Photograph |
| Suprematist Composition | 1916 | Painting |
| Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection | 1915 | Painting |
| Suprematist Composition: Airplane Flying | 1915 (dated on reverse 1914) | Painting |
| Suprematist Composition: White on White | 1918 | Painting |
| Suprematist Diagonal Construction 79 | 1917 | Drawing |
| Suprematist Drawing | (c. 1916-17) | Drawing |
| Suprematist Drawing | (c. 1916-17) | Drawing |
| Suprematist Element: Circle | (1923) | Drawing |
| Suprematist Elements: Squares | 1923 | Drawing |
| Suprematist interior decoration | 1920-1921 | Drawing |
| Suprematist Painting | 1916-17 | Painting |
| Suprematistisch schilderij (met zwart trapezium en rood vierkant) | 1915 | Other |
| Suprematistische compositie | 1915 (versie 1920-1927) | Drawing |
| Suprematistische compositie (met acht rode rechthoeken) | 1915 | Painting |
| Suprematistische compositie (met blauwe driehoek en zwarte rechthoek) | 1915 | Painting |
| Suprematistische compositie (met gele, oranje en groene rechthoek) | 1915-1916 | Other |
| Suprematistische Elemente im Raum | 1914-1915 | Drawing |
| Suprematistische Komposition | 1915-1916 | Drawing |
| Suprematistische Komposition | 1915/1916 | Drawing |
| Suprematistische Komposition (Suprematist Composition) | 1915 | Painting |
| Suprematistische schets | 1915-1920 | Drawing |
| Suprematistische Zeichnung (Plan eines Erdflugplatzes) | 1927 | Drawing |
| Suprematistisches Architekton | around 1926 | Sculpture or object |
| Suprematizm. 34 risunka | 1920 | |
| Suprematizm. 34 risunka (Suprematism: 34 Drawings) | 1920 | Book |
| Supremus No. 18 | 1916–1917 | Drawing |
| Supremus nr 51 | 1916 (versie 1920-1927) | Drawing |
| Supremus Nr. 38 | 1916 | Other |
| Supremus nr. 50 | 1915 | Other |
| Supremus nr. 58 | 1916 (versie begin jaren 1920) | Drawing |
| Sushchestvuet énergiya v sushchestve kot | ca. 1923 | Other |
| Sämann | 1910/1912 | Drawing |
| Tenhemelopneming van een heilige | 1907-1908 | Drawing |
| The Triumph of Heaven | 1907 | Painting |
| The UNOVIS way (Put' Unovisa) | Ιανουάριος 1921 | |
| The Word As Such (Slovo kak takovoe) | 1913 | Book |
| Third State of Being | designed in 1915, made in the 1920s | Drawing |
| Three Female Figures | Early 1930s | Painting |
| Threesome (Troe) | 1913 | Book |
| Thèmes pour des monuments architecturaux dans des parcs et sur des places | 1927 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| Tizian | around 1930 | Drawing |
| Tochil’schik Printsip Mel’kaniia (The Knife Grinder or Principle of Glittering) | 1912–13 | Painting |
| Toekomstige planits voor Leningrad. Het huis van de vliegenier | 1924 | Drawing |
| Toekomstige planits, huizen voor aardbewoners | 1920-1921 (versie 1923-1924) | Drawing |
| Toneelontwerp voor akte 1, scène 4 van Overwinning op de zon | 1913 | Drawing |
| Toneelontwerp voor Overwinning op de zon | 1913 (versie 1915) | Drawing |
| Torse féminin | [1908 / avant 1930] | Drawing |
| Torso (Figure with a Pink Face) | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Torso (Prototype of a New Image) | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Torso in a Yellow Shirt (Complicated Premonition) | c. 1932 | Painting |
| Transrationele compositie: geluiden | 1913 | Drawing |
| Trees | circa 1904 | Painting |
| Triple Portrait | Study for Socialist City (unexecuted). 1933 | Painting |
| Troe (The Three) | 1913 | Book |
| Troe (The Three) | 1913 | Book |
| Trois croix | vers 1930 - 1932 | Drawing |
| Trois dessins : tête de femme, buste et visage | [1908 / avant 1930] | Drawing |
| Troye | 1913 | Other |
| Tvorchestvo ne mozhet byt' svobodno | ca. 1923 | Other |
| Tvorchestvo ne mozhet byt' svobodno | ca. 1923 | Other |
| Twee duivels die een vrouw doormidden zagen | 1913-1914 | |
| Twee mannen in beweging | 1917-1918 of ca. 1930 | Drawing |
| Twee naakte vrouwen peren plukkend | 1909 | Painting |
| Twee vrouwen en een man tegen een lage horizon | 1930 | Drawing |
| Two figures with a stretcher | ca. 1930-1931 | Drawing |
| Two Male Figures | Early 1930s | Painting |
| Tête noire | vers 1930 | Drawing |
| Universal Landscape | 1913 | |
| UNOVIS Questionnaire | 1920 | |
| Untitled | 1920 | Drawing |
| Untitled | c. 1920 | |
| Untitled | αχρονολόγητο | |
| Untitled | Undated | Drawing |
| Untitled | Undated | Drawing |
| Untitled | 1913? | Drawing |
| Untitled (Suprematist Composition) | circa 1919–1926 | Drawing |
| Untitled (Suprematist Composition) | circa 1919–1926 | Drawing |
| Untitled (Suprematist Cross) | 1920, printed 1973 | |
| Untitled, Illustration for the book by Aleksei Kruchenykh and Velimir Khlebnikov "Igra v Adu»" (2nd edition, Moscow 1914) | 1913 | |
| Verdwijnend geel vlak | 1917-1918 | Painting |
| Verdwijnende constructie (diagonale balk met drie bogen in wit) | ca. 1917 | Other |
| Verdwijnende witte vlakken | 1917-1918 | Other |
| Verklarende kaarten over de theorie van het additionele of toegevoegde element in de schilderkunst | 1927 | Drawing |
| Verticale constructie, suprematisme | 1919-1920 (versie 1920-1925) | Drawing |
| Vier figuren in een landschap | ca. 1928-1930 | Drawing |
| Vijf geketende figuren op de rug gezien, geflankeerd door twee bewakers | 1910-1911 | Drawing |
| Vil'gel'mova Karusel' (Wilhelm's Carousel) | 1914 | |
| Vloerboeners | 1911 | Drawing |
| Voorstudie voor het omslag van het programma van het Congres van Comités van Armoede op het Platteland | 1918 | Drawing |
| Voorstudie voor het omslag van het programma van het Congres van Comités van Armoede op het Platteland | 1918 | Drawing |
| Voorstudie voor het omslag van Sezd Komitetov Derevenskoi Bednoty (Congres van Comités van Armoede op het Platteland) | 1918 | Drawing |
| Voorstudie voor het omslag van Sezd Komitetov Derevenskoi Bednoty (Congres van Comités van Armoede op het Platteland) | 1918 | Drawing |
| Voyna (Oorlog) | 1914 | Drawing |
| Vozropshchem (Let's Grumble) | 1913 | Book |
| Vrouw bij tramhalte | 1913-1914 | Other |
| Vrouw in lange jurk met kind | 1930 | Drawing |
| Vrouw met de armen over elkaar | 1931-1932 | Drawing |
| Vrouw met krant op schoot | 1904 | Other |
| Vrouw omgeven door vruchten | 1909 | Painting |
| Vrouwelijke figuur met uitgespreide armen | 1930? | Drawing |
| Vrouwenfiguur | 1909 | Drawing |
| Vrouwenfiguur met gespreide armen | 1930-1931 | Drawing |
| Vrouwenfiguur, vis, cirkel, kruis | ca. 1928-1930 | Drawing |
| Vsemirny peyzazh (Universeel landschap) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Vzorval | 1913 | Book |
| Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913 | Book |
| Vzorval' (Explodity) | 1913–14, published 1914 | Book |
| Wachthuisje, drie kruisen | ca 1930-1931 | Drawing |
| What a Rattle | 1914 | |
| Wilhelm Carousel | 1914 | |
| Windmills | ca. 1909-1910 | Painting |
| Wit suprematistisch kruis | 1920-1921 | Painting |
| Woman Reaper (front cover) from Slovo Kak Takavoe (The Word as Such) | 1913 | Book |
| Woman with Pails: Dynamic Arrangement | 1912-13 (dated on reverse 1912) | Painting |
| Woman Worker | 1933 | Painting |
| Women Bathers | Circa 1930 | Painting |
| Women Reapers (The Reapers) | 1928–1929; 1905 inscription separately documented by Gasper-Hulvat 2012 | Painting |
| Wraparound cover for the program S'ezd komitetov derevenskoi bednoty (Congress of Committees of Peasant Poverty) | 1918 | Book |
| Wäscherin | 1909-1910 | Drawing |
| Ya apostol novykh ponyaty b iskusstve (Ik, de apostel van nieuwe begrippen in de kunst | 1916 | Drawing |
| Zelfportret in twee dimensies | 1915 | Painting |
| Zeta | 1923 / 1978 | Sculpture or object |
| Zhnitsa (Maaiende vrouw) | 1913 | Drawing |
| Zittend naakt op de rug gezien | 1907-1908 | Drawing |
| Zwei Schwestern | around 1904-1906 | Drawing |
| «Живо заняли мы Галич...». | 1914 | |
| «Ну и треск же, ну и гром же...» | 1914 | |
| «Подошел колбасник к Лодзи...» | 1914 | |
| Весна – цветущий сад | 1928–1929 | Painting |
| Вильгельмова карусель | 1914 | |
| Голова крестьянина | Конец 1920-х | Drawing |
| Девочка под деревом. Этюд | 1932–1933 | Painting |
| Девушка с гребнем в волосах | 1932–1933 | Painting |
| Девушка с красным древком | 1932–1933 | Painting |
| Деревня. Три рисунка | 1928-1929 | Drawing |
| Динамический супрематизм | 1920 | Drawing |
| Динамический супрематизм. Аэроплан летит | 1920 | |
| Доктор Мабузо. Образец киноплаката | 1925–1926 | Painting |
| Ескіз розпису конференц-залу ВУАН в Києві (Sketch for the painting of the conference hall of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kyiv) | 1930 | Drawing |
| Женщина с граблями | 1930-1931 | Painting |
| Композиция с двумя прямоугольниками | 1920 | Drawing |
| Крестьянка | 1928-1929 | Drawing |
| Кубофутуризм. Динамическое ощущение натурщика. Авторская реплика композиций 1911 и 1919 года | Вторая половина 1920-х | Drawing |
| Кубофутуристический пейзаж | 1913 | Drawing |
| Лубок. «Вильгельмова карусель» | 1914 | |
| Лубок. «Глядь, поглядь, уж близко Висла» | 1914 | |
| Лубок. «Подошел колбасник к Лодзи» | 1914 | |
| Лубок. «Шел австриец в Радзивиллы» | 1914 | |
| На сенокосе | 1928-1929 | Painting |
| Пейзаж под Киевом | 1930 | Painting |
| Плащаница | 1908 | Drawing |
| Портрет А.А. Лепорской | Около 1933 | Painting |
| Портрет В.А. Павлова | 1933 | Painting |
| Портрет жены | 1934 | Painting |
| Портрет Н. Н. Пунина | 1933 | Painting |
| Портрет ударника (Краснознаменец Жарновский) | 1932 | Painting |
| Почтовая карточка «По утру из Львова вышли...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Ах ты, милый город Люблин...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Выезжали мы за Млаву...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Выезжали мы из Ковны...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Глядь, по глядь, уж близко Висла...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Как заехали за Лык..» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Не ходи австриец плутом...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Ну и треск, да ну и гром же...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Скоро, скоро будем в Краков...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовая карточка. «Шел австриец в Радзивилы...» | 1914 | |
| Почтовые карточки | 1914 | |
| Принцип росписи стены | 1919 | Drawing |
| Сестры | 1930 | Painting |
| Смерть конного генерала | 1914 | Drawing |
| Станция без остановки. Кунцево | 1913-1914 | Painting |
| Супрематизм | 1920 | Drawing |
| Супрематизм | 1919 | Drawing |
| Супрематизм. Композиция с кругом | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Супрематическая композиция | 1917-1918 | Drawing |
| Три супрематических композиции | Начало 1920-х | Drawing |
| Туалетная шкатулка | 1913-1914 | Painting |
| Чашка (получашка) | 1923 | Sculpture or object |
| Чашка (получашка) «Супрематизм» | 1923 | Sculpture or object |
| Черный квадрат | 1929 | Painting |
| Черный квадрат (Black Square) | 1913 / circa 1932 in formal field; circa 1930–32 in museum essay | Painting |
| Черный супрематический квадрат | 1915 | Painting |
| ‘aF’ forma obema (‘aF’ vorm van volume) | 1915, versie 1924 of 1926 | Drawing |
Discussion
Which small variation of white, edge or brushwork makes the inner square most visible to you?
The 1919 pairing with Rodchenko offers a second way to consider the painting. What changes when a white work is seen beside a black one?
Reader Insights
Notice the inner form’s tilt and uneven distance from each canvas edge. Does it feel still or in motion?
Compare this canvas with the 1915 Black Square. How does a slight tonal difference change the experience of a square?
How much can the 1919 exhibition setting explain, and where should an interpretation return to the paint itself?
Join the Conversation
Share a close observation or a source-backed interpretation of this canvas.
Frequently asked questions
Is White on White just an empty canvas?
No. A slightly tilted pale square is painted against a subtly different pale field; differences in tone, texture, and edge are part of the work. [1]
Where is White on White held?
The painting is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. [1]
How does it relate to Black Square?
Both reduce the image to a square and surrounding field, but White on White greatly narrows the contrast between figure and ground. [1]
References
- Museum of Modern Art, Suprematist Composition: White on White, object 817.1935: title, object facts, gallery labels and provenance. View source.
- Tretyakov Gallery, 1915 Black Suprematist Square, inv. 11925: first square and 0.10 exhibition account. View source.
- Christie’s, 1916 Suprematist Composition, lot 6140947: comparison object and chronology. View source.
- Malevich Society, writings published in the artist’s lifetime: edition chronology; no quotation is extracted from the index. View source.
- Margarita Tupitsyn, “The Subject of Nonobjective Art,” MoMA Post, 2019: the 1919 pairing and an attributed interpretation of its wider debates. View source.
- Christie’s, 1919 Catalogue of the 10th State Exhibition bibliographic record: evidence that the original catalogue exists; its full contents have not been used here. View source.
- Splash image: Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition: White on White, 1918. Oil on canvas, 79.4 × 79.4 cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York, 817.1935. Image file: Wikimedia Commons.
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