"The Three", Collection of Futurist Poetry and Prose – St. Petersburg, 1913 – Cover Design by Kazimir Malevich

"The Three", Collection of Futurist Poetry and Prose – St. Petersburg, 1913 – Cover Design by Kazimir Malevich

Трое [The Three], by Aleksei Kruchenykh, Velimir Khlebnikov and Elena Guro. St. Petersburg: журавль, [1913]. Russian. Cover design by Kazimir Malevich. Printed in 500 copies.

A collection of poetry and prose printed in memory of the Futurist poet, writer and artist Elena Guro (Елена Гуро; 1877-1913). The collection includes works by Guro and by the Futurist poets Aleksei Kruchenykh and Velimir Khlebnikov. Among other works, it includes Kruchenykh's article "New Ways of the Word", which discusses "Zaum" – the new Futurist language he invented together with Khlebnikov.

Alongside the text, the collection features four printed plates – reproductions of paintings by Kazimir Malevich. The lithographic cover was designed by Malevich.

96 pages. 19.5 cm. Greenish paper. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Inscription on title page. Stains and restored tears to cover; stamp and inscription on back cover.

MoMA 38.

Kazimir Malevich (Казими́р Севери́нович Мале́вич; 1879-1935), an artist and theoretician of the Russian avant-garde. One of the pioneers of abstract art in the early 20th century. Malevich was born in Ukraine to a family of Polish origin, the eldest of fourteen siblings. In 1904, he travelled to Moscow to study art and took part in several of the projects that are most identified with the Russian avant-garde (including the design of the stage-set for the Futurist opera "Victory Over the Sun").

In 1915, he exhibited in the "Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0.10" one of his iconic works – "The Black Square", which is considered one of the seminal works of modern art (Malevich painted four additional versions of the work in his lifetime). The work paved the way for the new style developed by Malevich, Suprematism, and introduced its major characteristics: using simple geometrical forms and a limited selection of colors. In years to come, Malevich's influence increased and in 1920, backed up by an enthusiastic circle of supporters, he took the place of Marc Chagall at the art school of Vitebsk. Due to political changes, in his final years Malevich was forced to alter his revolutionary style and adopt the model of socialist realism. He died in 1935, in poverty and far from the public's eye.