Foreshadowed

When Kasimir Malevichs Black Square was produced in 1915, no-one had ever seen anything like it before. And yet it does have precedents. In fact, over the previous 500 years, several painters, writers, philosophers, scientists and censors each working independently towards an absolute statement of their own alighted on the form of the black square or rectangle, as if for the first time. This book explores the resonances between Malevichs Black Square and its precursors, showing how a genealogical thread binds them together into an intriguing, and sometimes quirky, sequence of modulations. Andrew Spiras book explores how each predecessor both foreshadows Malevichs work and, paradoxically, throws light on it, revealing layers of meaning that are often overlooked but which are as relevant today as ever.