Three women on the road 1900

Kazimir Malevich painted these three women on the road with oil on canvas. At the time he made this work, he was living through the tumultuous years of the early Soviet Union, a period marked by immense social and political change. Here, three peasant women walk towards us down a path cutting through a field of wheat. These figures are not mere representations but carriers of history and identity. They represent the intersection of gender and class in rural Russia. The women’s traditional clothing and headscarves speak to their cultural roots, while their presence on the road suggests movement, perhaps towards a changing future. Malevich once said, "It is necessary to proceed not from the object, but from feeling." The artwork prompts us to reflect on the lives and roles of women in times of transition and how personal experiences intertwine with broader historical narratives. It evokes a sense of nostalgia, as the rural way of life in Russia was disappearing.