Kazimir Malevich

Kazimir Malevich, born near Kyiv in the Russian Empire, decided early on that traditional art was just a bit too... much. So, he stripped it down, then stripped it some more, until all that was left were fundamental geometric forms. If you thought "Black Square" was a simple painting, you’re missing the profound philosophical heavy lifting going on behind what looks suspiciously like a canvas left out in the rain.

His art movement, Suprematism, was all about the "supremacy of pure artistic feeling." Which, for those of us who appreciate a good narrative, meant goodbye peasants and sunflowers, hello squares and circles floating in infinite white space. It was a bold move, especially in an era where painting a cow still got you kudos, not confused stares.

Malevich was a man of principles, even when those principles meant drawing a single black square on a white background and declaring it the pinnacle of artistic achievement. While his work might not have screamed "kvell!" to your bubbe, it certainly made the art world sit up and take notice. After all, if you can convince people that a painted black square is revolutionary, you’ve clearly mastered something. Jewish? No. Important? Absolutely.