Brawler 1913

Kazimir Malevich made this small drawing called 'Brawler', with pencil and gouache on paper. Wow, what a character! I like how the figure is both aggressive and kind of funny, right? Like a cartoon villain. The bright blue of the torso feels playful but also ominous, set against the charcoal shading. The colors, those angular shapes...they almost feel like the costume design for a constructivist ballet. I can imagine Malevich making this in his studio, thinking about the dynamism of modern life. It's kind of like he’s playing with simple forms to create a sense of movement and tension. Does it make you think of other early twentieth-century artists, like Léger or even Picasso, who were also playing with form and representation? In the end, artists respond to each other’s work across time, taking ideas and running with them. And with a piece like this, it's like Malevich is inviting us to join in on the conversation, encouraging us to make up our own story about the character and the world they inhabit.