When the Bolsheviks stormed St Petersburg’s Winter Palace in 1917, little did they know that the country’s artistic revolution had already begun. Avant-garde pioneer Kazimir Malevich had stripped his Suprematist art down to its barest essentials with the game-changing Black
Square as early as 1915. However, art and politics were destined to become far more closely intertwined.
Malevich’s own story is tragically typical of the fate of many of the avant-garde figures who initially embraced the brave new world of Soviet art and society: Tim Marlow explains more in this 60-second introduction.
Royal Academy is presenting until April 17 the landmark exhibition Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932
Past videos on the series:
“Willem de Kooning in 60 seconds? Yes, thanks to Tim Marlow and his Abstract Expressionism stories”
“Mark Rothko in 60 seconds? Yes, thanks to Tim Marlow and his Abstract Expressionism stories”
“Jackson Pollock in 60 seconds? Yes, thanks to Tim Marlow and his Abstract Expressionism stories”
