History I / Modernism and the Avant-Gardes
Practice question · Multiple choice

Why did Malevich hang the Black Square across the corner of the room?

Hints
  1. The placement is a quotation, not a convenience.
  2. What normally occupies that corner in a Russian home?
Show the answer

D. That corner is where a Russian home hangs its icon

Why

The icon corner is the place of contemplation, and Malevich put his square in it, replacing one object of devotion with another. Not a picture of nothing: a picture that is only itself, claiming the icon’s job.

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