Experts at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery discovered two previous paintings and an inscription underneath Kazimir Malevich’s seminal Black Square (1915). The Russian museum—which owns one of three versions of the work—performed an x-ray analysis on the top layer of black paint to uncover the underlying images. The findings could reveal the story behind this central modernist artwork.

Kazimir Malevich, Black Square, 1915, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Source: Wikipedia)

The x-ray analysis uncovered a handwritten note by the artist on the painting’s white border which is still being deciphered. However, according to AFP, preliminary investigations have revealed that the text says “Negroes battling in a cave.” The note is a reference to an 1897 black square painting by the French writer Alphonse Allais titled Combat des Negres dans une cave, pendant la nuit  (“Negroes Fighting in a Cellar at Night.”) Alphonse Allais  (1854 – 1905) was editor-in-chief of the influential Montmartre-magazine Le chat noir and a key figure of the proto-avant-garde group Les Arts Incohérents. (Sources:  Artnet news / Guardian)