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7/30/2019 Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky
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Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (16 December 186613 December 1944) was an
influential Russian painterand art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-
abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at
the University of Moscow, studying law and economics. Successful in his professionhe wasoffered a professorship (chair of Roman Law) at the University of Dorpathe began painting
studies (life-drawing, sketching and anatomy) at the age of 30.
In 1896 Kandinsky settled in Munich, studying first atAnton Abe's private school and then at
the Academy of Fine Arts. He returned to Moscow in 1914, after the outbreak of World War I.
Kandinsky was unsympathetic to the official theories on art in Moscow, and returned to
Germany in 1921. There, he taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922
until the Nazis closed it in 1933. He then moved to France where he lived the rest of his life,
becoming a French citizen in 1939. He died at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1944.
Wassily Kandinsky was one of the most original and influential artists of the twentieth-century.His "inner necessity" to express his emotional perceptions led to the development of an
abstract style of painting that was based on the non-representational properties of color and
form. Kandinsky's compositions were the culmination of his efforts to create a "pure painting"
that would provide the same emotional power as a musical composition.
Theoretical Writing
Kandinsky's analyses on forms and colours result not from simple, arbitrary idea-associations
but from the painter's inner experience. He spent years creating abstract, sensorially-rich
paintings, working with form and colour, tirelessly observing his own paintings and those ofother artists, noting their effects on his sense of colour. This subjective experience is something
that anyone can donot scientific, objective observations but inner, subjective ones, what
French philosopherMichel Henry calls "absolute subjectivity" or the
"absolute phenomenological life".
Concerning the Spiritual in Art
Published in 1911, Kandinsky's book compares the spiritual life of humanity to a pyramid; the
artist has a mission to lead others to the pinnacle with his work. The point of the pyramid is
those few, great artists. It is a spiritual pyramid, advancing and ascending slowly even if it
sometimes appears immobile. During decadent periods, the soul sinks to the bottom of the
pyramid; humanity searches only for external success, ignoring spiritual forces.
Colours on the painter's palette evoke a double effect: a purely-physical effect on the eye
which is charmed by the beauty of colours, similar to the joyful impression when we eat a
delicacy. This effect can be much deeper, however, causing a vibration of the soul or an
"inner resonance"a spiritual effect in which the colour touches the soul itself.
"Inner necessity" is, for Kandinsky, the principle of art and the foundation of forms and the
harmony of colours. He defines it as the principle of efficient contact of the form with the
human soul. Everyform is the delimitation of a surface by another one; it possesses an inner
content, the effect it produces on one who looks at it attentively. This inner necessity is the
right of the artist to unlimited freedom, but this freedom becomes licence if it is not founded
on necessity. Art is born from the inner necessity of the artist in an enigmatic, mystical way
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through which it acquires an autonomous life; it becomes an independent subject,
animated by a spiritual breath.
The obvious properties we can see when we look at an isolated colourand let it act alone;
on one side is the warmth or coldness of the colour tone, and on the other side is the clarity
or obscurity of that tone. Warmth is a tendency towards yellow, and coldness a tendency
towards blue; yellow and blue form the first great, dynamic contrast. Yellow has
an eccentric movement and blue a concentricmovement; a yellow surface seems to move
closer to us, while a blue surface seems to move away. Yellow is a typically terrestrial colour,
whose violence can be painful and aggressive. Blue is a celestial colour, evoking a deep
calm. The combination of blue and yellow yields total immobility and calm, which is green.
Clarity is a tendency towards white, and obscurity is a tendency towards black. White and
black form the second great contrast, which is static. White is a deep, absolute silence, full of
possibility. Black is nothingness without possibility, an eternal silence without hope, and
corresponds with death. Any other colour resonates strongly on its neighbors. The mixing of
white with black leads to gray, which possesses no active force and whose tonality is near
that of green. Gray corresponds to immobility without hope; it tends to despair when it
becomes dark, regaining little hope when it lightens.
Red is a warm colour, lively and agitated; it is forceful, a movement in itself. Mixed with black
it becomes brown, a hard colour. Mixed with yellow, it gains in warmth and becomes
orange, which imparts an irradiating movement on its surroundings. When red is mixed with
blue it moves away from man to become purple, which is a cool red. Red and green form
the third great contrast, and orange and purple the fourth.
Point and Line To Plane
In his writings, Kandinsky analyzed the geometrical elements which make up every painting
the point and the line. He called the physical support and the material surface on which theartist draws or paints the basic plane, or BP. He did not analyze them objectively, but from
the point of view of their inner effect on the observer.
A point is a small bit of colour put by the artist on the canvas. It is neither a geometric point
nor a mathematical abstraction; it is extension, form and colour. This form can be a square, a
triangle, a circle, a star or something more complex. The point is the most concise form but,
according to its placement on the basic plane, it will take a different tonality. It can be
isolated or resonate with other points or lines.
A line is the product of a force which has been applied in a given direction: the force
exerted on the pencil or paintbrush by the artist. The produced linear forms may be of
several types: astraight line, which results from a unique force applied in a single direction;
an angularline, resulting from the alternation of two forces in different directions, or
a curved (orwave-like) line, produced by the effect of two forces acting simultaneously.
A plane may be obtained by condensation (from a line rotated around one of its ends).
The subjective effect produced by a line depends on its orientation: a horizontal line
corresponds with the ground on which man rests and moves; it possesses a dark and cold
affective tonality similar to black or blue. A vertical line corresponds with height, and offers
no support; it possesses a luminous, warm tonality close to white and yellow.
A diagonal possesses a more-or-less warm (or cold) tonality, according to its inclination
toward the horizontal or the vertical.
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A force which deploys itself, without obstacle, as the one which produces a straight line
corresponds with lyricism; several forces which confront (or annoy) each other form a drama.
The angle formed by the angular line also has an inner sonority which is warm and close to
yellow for an acute angle (a triangle), cold and similar to blue for an obtuse angle (a circle),
and similar to red for a right angle (a square).
The basic plane is, in general, rectangular or square. therefore, it is composed of horizontal
and vertical lines which delimit it and define it as an autonomous entity which supports the
painting, communicating its affective tonality. This tonality is determined by the relative
importance of horizontal and vertical lines: the horizontals giving a calm, cold tonality to the
basic plane while the verticals impart a calm, warm tonality. The artist intuits the inner effect
of the canvas format and dimensions, which he chooses according to the tonality he wants
to give to his work. Kandinsky considered the basic plane a living being, which the artist
"fertilizes" and feels "breathing".
Each part of the basic plane possesses an affective colouration; this influences the tonality of
the pictorial elements which will be drawn on it, and contributes to the richness of the
composition resulting from their juxtaposition on the canvas. The above of the basic plane
corresponds with looseness and to lightness, while the below evokes condensation and
heaviness. The painter's job is to listen and know these effects to produce paintings which are
not just the effect of a random process, but the fruit of authentic work and the result of an
effort towards inner beauty.
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Works
"Composition IV", 1911
Composition IV, a maelstrom of swirling colors and soaring lines. The painting is divided
abruptly in the center by two thick, black vertical lines. On the left, a violent motion is
expressed through the profusion of sharp, jagged and entangled lines. On the right, all is
calm, with sweeping forms and color harmonies. Kandinsky's intention was that our initial
reaction should result from the emotional impact of the pictorial forms and colors. However,
upon closer inspection the apparent abstraction of this work proves illusory. The dividing lines
are actually two lances held by red-hatted Cossacks. Next to them, a third, white-bearded
Cossack leans on his violet sword. They stand before a blue mountain crowned by a castle.
In the lower left, two boats are depicted. Above them, two mounted Cossacks are joined in
battle, brandishing violet sabers. On the lower right, two lovers recline, while above them two
robed figures observe from the hillside. Kandinsky has reduced representation to
pictographic signs in order to obtain the flexibility to express a higher, more cosmic vision. The
deciphering of these signs is the key to understanding the theme of the work. An awareness
of Kandinsky's philosophy leads to a reading of Composition IV as expressing the apocalyptic
battle that will end in eternal peace. Composition IV works on multiple levels: initially, the
colors and forms exercise an emotional impact over the viewer, without need to consider therepresentational aspects. Then, the decoding of the representational signs involves the
viewer on an intellectual level. I find that I can no longer view Composition IV without
automatically translating the imagery to representational forms. Yet this solving of the work's
mysteries does not draw the life from it; rather, the original emotional impact is strengthened
in a new way. An interesting story that indicates Kandinskys intellectual examination in the
creation of his works revolves around this composition. He became exhausted during the
months of studying he went through in preparation for this painting, and decided to go for a
walk. His assistant at the time, Gabrielle Munter, who was tidying up the studio in the artists
absence, inadvertently turned the canvas on its side. Upon Kandinskys return, he saw the
canvas, fell to his knees and began weeping at the beauty of the painting. His newly found
perspective on the piece would change his artistic vision and direction for the rest of his life.
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"Composition VIII", 1923
The viewer receives quite a shock in moving from the apocalyptic emotion of Composition
VII to the geometrical rhythm of Composition VIII. Painted ten years later in 1923,
Composition VIII reflects the influence of Suprematism and Constructivism absorbed by
Kandinsky while in Russia prior to his return to Germany to teach at the Bauhaus. Here,
Kandinsky has moved from color to form as the dominating compositional element.
Contrasting forms now provide the dynamic balance of the work; the large circle in the
upper left plays against the network of precise lines in the right portion of the canvas. Note
also how Kandinsky uses different colors within the forms to energize their geometry: a yellow
circle with blue halo versus blue circle with yellow halo; a right angle filled with blue and an
acute angle colored pink. The background also works to enhance the dynamism of the
composition. The design does not appear as a geometrical exercise on a flat plane, but
seems to be taking place in an undefined space. The layered background colors - light blue
at bottom, light yellow at top and white in the middle - define this depth. The forms tend to
recede and advance within this depth, creating a dynamic, push-pull effect.
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"Composition X", 1939
Five years before his death in 1944, Kandinsky completed the final work in the series. The
outstanding characteristic of Composition X is obviously the stark, black ground. The colors
and forms appear particularly sharp against the black background. The brilliance of the
colored shapes brings to mind the cutouts done by Matisse over a decade later. The
movement of the forms is distinctly upward and outward from both sides of a central axis
running through the book-like form near the top of the canvas. This movement enhances the
evocation of hot-air balloon forms rising into an infinite space. The round form between the
book shape and the brown balloon shape has a lunar feel to it that even conveys a feeling
of literal "outer space". Kandinsky had always expressed a strong dislike for the color black
and it is significant that he chose it as the dominating color of his last major artistic statement.
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