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The Secret of Temptation (recto) Portrait of Ivan Kliun (verso) signed and dated 'Kazimir Malewicz 1908' (lower left, recto ) watercolour, gouache and pencil on card ( recto ) pencil on card ( verso ) 9 1/8 x 9 7/8in. (23.2 x 25cm.) Executed in 1908 ( recto ) Executed circa 1910-11 ( verso ) PROVENANCE Mieczyslaw Malevich, Moscow, the brother of the artist. Nikolai Chardzhiew, Moscow. Vadim Kosovoi, Paris. Anon. sale, Sotheby's London, 24 June 1988, lot 334. Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne. Acquired from the above by the father of the present owners. LITERATURE J. C. Marcad‚, Mal‚vitch, Paris 1990, p. 48 NOTES To be included in the forthcoming Kasimir Malevich catalogue raisonn‚ being prepared by Andr‚ Boris Nakov, Paris. Executed in 1908, The Secret of Temptation is a rare example from Malevich's brief Symbolist period which dated from 1907 to 1909. "Following this Impressionistic phase, Malevich sought to expand his stylistic range. Avidly adapting to the latest trends, his work from 1906 through 1910 shows chameleon-like versatility. Conversant with Post-Impressionism..., Symbolism..., and the Fauvism of Matisse and Andr‚ Derain..., Malevich never relinquished his individuality, always returning to focus on rural peasant life...Coming under the influence of such local artist groups as the Symbolist 'Blue Rose', the impressionable Malevich acclimatized to his multifaceted surroundings" (R. Crone and D. Moos, Kazimir Malevich, the Climax of Disclosure, London 1991, pp. 56-58). Marcad‚ records a preliminary drawing for the central figure in the present work (J. C. Marcad‚, Malevich, Lausanne 1979, no. 33). The portrait of Malevich's great friend Ivan Kliun on the verso was most probably executed circa 1910-11 when the two co-founded the Moscow Association of Artists. To be included in the forthcoming Kasimir Malevich catalogue raisonn‚ being prepared by Andr‚ Boris Nakov, Paris.