The advent of suprematism in 1915 was staged by Malevich in two ways: as an ensemble of paintings displayed together and carefully documented in a well-known photograph, and in a lengthy treatise called “From Cubism to Suprematism. The New Painterly Realism,” sold within the premises of the group show The Last Futurist Exhibition of Paintings 0,10 (zero-ten) held in late 1915-early 1916 in Petrograd. The second enlarged edition of this treatise expanded the lineage of suprematism to Italian Futurism but did not touch upon the concept of realism: “From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism. The New Painterly Realism” (1916). Suprematism was meant to fulfill the utmost dream of modern painting: give life to the painterly forms in a world parallel and equal to the world of nature but free of any imitation or objective reference to it. This article starts by discussing this specific meaning of realism, which was central to the avant-garde circles in Europe and Russia in the 1910s, and situates Malevich’s definition with regard to the writings of the French cubists, as well as to a 1921 essay by Russian formalist Roman Jakobson, “On artistic realism”. The question that arises with regard to Malevich’s later work is twofold: first, does the 1917 Revolution change the meaning of ‘realism’ that had already been posited by Malevich, and if yes, how? Second, how can we think of Malevich’s post-revolutionary teaching practice in Vitebsk (Nov. 1919-1922 ), and his following experiments in suprematist architecture (the post-Vitebsk architectones of 1923-24): does the practical incentive strengthen or loosen the sense of ‘realism’ that he believed to be inherent to Suprematism? This second question considers the influence of El Lissitzky on Malevich as well as Malevich’s theoretical writings and philosophical ambitions. Finally, the essay discusses why term “realism”, a major concept in his early writings on Suprematism, has been replaced in his later treatises by “objectless”, and what this meant for Malevich.