Malevich and Schopenhauer: the dialog about the non-objective

The article aims to outline the possible ways of reception of Schopenhauer’s philosophy in Malevich’s theoretical works and to compare their philosophical views on a number of key issues. In the light of many recent attempts to discover the source of Malevich’s philosophical views, this study seems not only relevant but also new, since the idea of Schopenhauer’s influence on Malevich has not yet been sufficiently developed in studies by Russian scholars. The sources for the present study are Malevich’s theoretical treatises and articles as well as his letters, records, and notes. The leading method in this research is the comparative method, used along with other methods such as historico-philosophical generalization and reconstruction. In the first part of the study, the author performs an extensive analysis of letters and notes from Malevich to M.O. Gershenzon, layouts of the first edition of Supremus magazine, and translations of Malevich’s manuscripts prepared by A. von Riesen for publication by the Bauhaus publishing house. Having analyzed all mentioned above, the author finds proof of Schopenhauer’s long-term influence on the genesis of Malevich’s theoretical views in the period from 1918 to 1927. In the second part, having conducted a comparative analysis of Malevich’s and Schopenhauer’s philosophical works, the author highlights a number of problematic issues. These are the problems of the relationship between intuitive and rational knowledge, art and science, will and intelligence, mysticism and aesthetics, where the traces of Schopenhauer’s influence on Malevich’s theoretical views are most obvious. In conclusion, considering all the obtained results, the author outlines a number of promising directions for further research on this topic.