Page 263 - Uros Todorovic Byzantine Painting Contemporary Eyes

Chapter V
If we compare these aspects to those addressed in the first case-study of this chapter, in particular, those relating to Malevich’s reinvention of the iconographical theme of The Shroud of the Virgin (image 2) which is exemplified in his work The Triumph of Heaven: study for a fresco (image 1), we observe that Malevich continuously nurtured a distinct liking of the way in which Orthodox theology is manifested through Byzantine icono- graphic tradition.
Yannis Ziogas’ insightful book, The Byzantine Malevich entails an original elaboration on the Byzantine aspects in Malevich’s Black Square. Ziogas’ interpretation, as we shall later discuss, allows us to comprehend the last black layer of colour applied in Black Square as a layer analogous to that which is commonly applied as the first (and darkest) layer of colour in the traditional practice of Byzantine iconography.
More importantly, Ziogas elaborates on how the Black Square is an authentic reinven- tion of a Byzantine iconographic theme of the Virgin and Child (Hodigitria). It should be noted that it is perhaps due to the fact that Ziogas’ work (2000) has not yet been trans- lated from Greek, that Néret (2003) observes a stronger association between the Woman Worker and Hodigitria than between the Self Portrait made in 1933 and Hodigitria – where according to our earlier made observation the aspect of the hand gesture is crucial.
We can theoretically argue that the four works which form a diagram across Ma- levich’s Byzantine experience are: his Self Portrait (1908–09 or 1910–11), the 11th century portrait of Christ the Pantokrator in Daphni, the traditional iconographical theme of the Virgin Hodigitria – common to the period of Late Byzantine painting, and finally, Ma- levich’s Black Square painted around 1913 and exhibited for the first time in 1915. As shown in image 13, when these four examples of art are presented as separate points in history on a diagram depicting a spiral progression of time, one extraordinary phenom- enon is observed.
The diagram mentioned forms two intercommunicating triangles where the size of the one which is much smaller could be understood analogically as the seeming extent of Malevich’s interest in Byzantine art, whereas the second and larger triangle could represent the extent of his actual, concealed and esoteric engagement with the post-phys- ical qualities of Late Byzantine painting. Quite coincidently, these two triangles present- ed in the diagram are rather reminiscent of the abstract features in Malevich’s Suprema- tist paintings, such as his painting entitled Dynamic Suprematism, Supremus No.57, shown in image 20. If we were to colour these two triangles of the diagram, the resemblance to Malevich’s painting would be even more compelling.
It should be noted that this Ancient Greek notion of the spiral-kind of unfolding of time (presented in the diagram) does also occur in Late Byzantine painting. For example,
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