Portrait of a record-setter in work productivity 1932

Kazimir Malevich made this portrait of a record-setter, using oil on canvas and a distinctive approach to colour and form, as though artmaking is a process of layering ideas and impressions. The materiality of this painting is really interesting. The brushstrokes are visible, almost chunky, giving a tactile quality to the surface. Look at how the colours are not blended smoothly, but rather juxtaposed, creating a vibrant, almost mosaic-like effect. Take the background, for example. The industrial scene is built up of these dabs of colour, reds, blues, and whites, which somehow convey the atmosphere of industry. Malevich, like other early modern artists, such as Fernand Léger, was interested in celebrating the energy of the industrial age. Yet, this painting is not simply a celebration; there’s something melancholic in the sitter's eyes, a sense of the human cost of progress. These works are not definitive statements but rather a conversation, an ongoing process of exploring what it means to be human in a rapidly changing world.