The “Melancholia” of Collecting

Abstract This essay focuses on Kazimir Malevich’s painting Black Quadrilateral from the George Costakis collection at MOMus, Thessaloniki, and its newly discovered, unexpected connections with a small drawing from the Nikolai Khardzhiev collection in Amsterdam. Situating the painting within Kazimir Malevich’s theory and practices, the essay aims to illustrate how this work bridges two renowned collections, shedding light on the role of form, color, and facture in Malevich’s black-and-white Suprematism.