An artist of new art, an abstractionist who survived wars and revolutions. The Bolsheviks called his painting “degenerate.” In his work “On the Spiritual in Art”, Kandinsky reveals the psychological effect of pure color on a person and finds a connection between painting and music. Kandinsky is a master of “compositions”, “improvisations” and “impressions”.
Wealthy, prosperous family with early years supported Wassily Kandinsky's aspirations for art. However, in the future he was supposed to become a lawyer. The young man brilliantly graduated from Moscow University, after which he taught.
The fate of Wassily Kandinsky again returned him to art when an exhibition took place in 1895 French impressionists. Wassily Kandinsky was amazed by Monet’s work “Haystacks”. Leaving the University, he went to Munich to study painting. At that time, Munich was considered the center European art, in 1892, a modernist association of artists was organized - Secession.
The Russian artist studied for two years with the Yugoslav painter Anton Ashbe, becoming more and more interested in creativity rather than technique. The first impressionist works were particularly distinguished color scheme, Kandinsky gave great importance not the form, the color of the picture. Later, when Kandinsky took lessons from the famous Franz Von Stuck (Secession artist), he had to leave his bright palette and paint in black and white, studying form. These requirements were set by the teacher, who considered Kandinsky a good student, but who did not have the ability to create bright colors.
Kandinsky spent four years in Munich, but no works from that time remain. It remains a mystery what their fate was, whether they were destroyed by the artist or lost.
Having completed his studies at the age of 35, Wassily Kandinsky created his own movement of abstract artists called “Phalanx”, which made him the leader of the Munich brotherhood of artists. In 1901, the first exhibition of the association took place in Berlin, which presented the works of the Impressionists and the revelations of the German Jugendstil. At this time, the artist met the young artist Gabriela Munter and divorced his wife. For 5 years he traveled with Gabriela around Europe, painting and participating in exhibitions.
In 1908, Kandinsky and Gabriela returned to Munich; it so happened that they settled near the studio of the artist Paul Klee. Ten years later they worked together at the Bauhaus, becoming like-minded people. Gabriela bought a house and they lived in it for 6 years. The house was located in Marnau, near the foot of the Bavarian Alps. This period became the most productive in the artist’s life. The artist increasingly moved from concrete images to abstraction.
In 1911, together with his friend the artist Franz Marc, Kandinsky organized the Blue Rider group. The artists were able to organize only two exhibitions.
In 1912, the first personal exhibition took place. The viewer did not accept Kandinsky's paintings, which plunged him into deep despondency.
The World War began and Kandinsky moved from Germany to Switzerland. Here he began work on the book “The Point and the Line.” By November 1914, he broke up with Gabriela and went to Moscow; the artist did not paint for almost two years.
In 1916, Kandinsky met Nina Andreevskaya, the daughter of a Russian general, and a year later he married her. Having received an inheritance after the death of his father, the artist immediately lost his means of subsistence; the Bolsheviks confiscated all his property. Finding himself below the poverty line, Kandinsky fell into despair. His wife's enthusiasm saved Kandinsky. He begins work at the People's Commissariat of Education, becoming the head of the cinema and theater section. Then he was invited to Moscow University to the position of professor, organizing at the same time the Institute artistic culture. Thanks to Kandinsky, about 22 art galleries in Russia. But, unfortunately, all Kandinsky’s efforts to find himself in his country were not crowned with success, abstractionism was declared “decadent”, and Kandinsky was called a “minion of the bourgeoisie.” And in 1921, having received an offer for a teaching position at the Bauhaus in Weimar, Kandinsky left the country.
The fate of the Bauhaus was difficult. In 1924, for political reasons, the school came under attack and had to be moved to Dessau, where it existed until 1932. Under pressure from local Nazis, the school was moved to Berlin. In April 1833 it was finally closed. Kandinsky and his wife leave Germany for safety reasons; they settle in the suburbs of Paris.
Wassily Kandinsky heard a lot of criticism addressed to him; galleries did not take the artist’s works. But, despite everything, the artist worked until the end of his life, remaining devoted to creativity.
Famous works of Wassily Vasilyevich Kandinsky
The painting “Improvisation 21A” was painted by a Russian artist in 1911 and is located in State Gallery Lenbachhaus, in Munich. The painting was painted during the period when Kandinsky became an abstractionist. Essentially, this is the artist’s reaction to the world around him, based on impressions and intuition.
At first glance, it seems that the picture is completely abstracted from real objects, but if you look closely, images begin to emerge. For example, a mountain is visible in the center. Bright color spots are outlined with a black outline - characteristic Kandinsky's paintings throughout his subsequent work. Another specific image is a stylized human figure in an unnatural position.
The painting “In Gray” was made in 1919 and is located in National Museum contemporary art, in the Center named after. J. Pompidou, in Paris. It can be counted among the paintings of the “Russian period” (1915-21). This painting marked the end of Kandinsky's period of study of the interaction of forms. The artist conceived a “composition” consisting of images - mountains, figures of people, boats. Upon completion of the work, the painting turned into an abstraction with a softer color compared to previous works.
In the painting, strict geometric figures are replaced by biomorphic forms, typical of the artist’s painting in Paris years. The color sounds in muted gray, brown and blue shades. The composition gives way to chaos.
The painting “Vibration” was completed in 1925 and is located in the Tate Gallery, London. The painting depicts geometric figures, which the artist writes about in “Point and Line.”
Contact between sharp triangle and all around produces no less an effect than the finger of God extended to Adam in Michelangelo’s painting.
V. Kandinsky
The brightest object is a chessboard. The complex structure is achieved by the unity of shape and color. The picture itself is made in muted colors. Tension is conveyed through the juxtaposition of shapes and colors. Circles dominate as inexhaustible hidden possibilities (Kandinsky).
The painting “Up” was painted in 1929, from the collection of Peggy Guggenheim, in Venice. During the Bauhaus period, the artist mainly painted paintings consisting of geometric shapes. “Up” is an image of a person made up of geometric shapes. The influence of Paul Klee's painting is visible here. The theory of “Points and lines on a plane” is traced. When Kandinsky painted backgrounds, he sought to break out of the tight framework into which he had driven himself at the Bauhaus. What he succeeded later in Paris.
Masterpiece of Kandinsky V.V. – painting “Detail for Composition IV”
The painting was executed in 1910 and is located in the Tate Gallery, London. The second name is “Cossacks”. The artist himself said that he took the plot of this painting from the events of the 1905 revolution, when Cossacks galloped through the streets of Moscow. In front of the viewer are two fighting Cossacks, below them is a rainbow, forming a road leading to a palace on a blue hill. On the right are three more Cossacks. Two of them have spades. The elements of the picture are difficult to recognize, which forces the viewer to stare at the images for a long time, gradually becoming immersed in the plot. Abstraction involves abstraction from real forms and creative expression in geometric elements.
“The artist is the hand that, through this or that key, expediently sets the human soul into vibration.”
The artist in front of the painting “Little Joys”. 1913
In 1900, Kandinsky entered the Munich Academy of Painting, in the class of Franz von Stuck, one of the best German draftsmen. The teacher was pleased with the student, although he found his palette too bright.
Active, bursting with energy, Wassily Kandinsky attracted people to himself like a magnet and infected them with his ideas like a virus. He organized the Phalanx group, in which he organized exhibitions and taught himself. It was during one of these lessons that the artist met his student Gabriela Munter, his second wife.
With her, Kandinsky traveled around Europe, visited America and Russia. Then he returned to Bavaria, settled in Murnau and continued his experiments - he painted expressionist landscapes of the surrounding area, tried his hand at Fauvism and abstraction.
Odessa. Port. 1898. State Tretyakov Gallery
Okhtyrka - Dark Lake. 1901. Munich, Germany. City gallery in Lebachhaus
Isar near Grosshessolohe. 1901. Munich, Germany, City Gallery in Lenbachhaus
Blue Rider. 1903. Zurich. Private collection
"Blue Rider" 1911–1914
This was the name of a painting painted by Kandinsky in 1903, an almanac and artistic association, which appeared in 1911. His inspirations are fellow artists Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. Now “the emphasis was on identifying the associative properties of color, line and composition, and such diverse sources as the romantic color theory of Goethe and Philipp Runge, Jugendstil and theosophy of Rudolf Steiner were involved”, wrote the painter.
The artist's studio became scientific laboratory, in which experiments were carried out in order to obtain new knowledge. Let's not forget that Kandinsky was a scientist and the search for truth, the relationship between modern theories and modern art were very important to him. These experiments resulted in Kandinsky’s book “On the Spiritual in Art” - the artist’s first work devoted to abstraction.
“Painting is art, and art in general is not the meaningless creation of works that blur into emptiness, but a purposeful force; it is designed to serve the development and improvement human soul... Painting is a language that, in forms unique to it alone, speaks to our soul about its daily bread.”
V. Kandinsky. “On the spiritual in art”
Kandinsky and the revolution. 1914–1921
With the outbreak of World War I, Kandinsky broke up with Gabriela Munter and moved to Moscow. Here in 1916 he meets Nina Andreevskaya, his third wife. In post-revolutionary Russia, Kandinsky had a lot to do: he collaborated with the Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education, created museums of modern art in 22 cities of the province, taught at the Free Workshops and VKHUTEMAS.
However, Kandinsky’s teachings were met with hostility by constructivists Varvara Stepanova, Alexander Rodchenko and Lyubov Popova, who put a rational approach at the forefront. The painter criticized them in response: “If an artist uses abstract means of expression, this does not mean that he abstract artist. That doesn't even mean he's an artist. A form without content is not a hand, but an empty glove filled with air.".
Kandinsky does not like the penetration of socialist ideology into art. In December 1921, he and his wife went to Berlin to organize a branch there Russian Academy artistic sciences. And he never returned to Russia.
Murnau. Garden. 1909. Switzerland, Merzbacher collection
Painting with three spots.1914. Madrid, Spain. Baroness Thyssen Collection
Vague. 1917. State Tretyakov Gallery
White line. 1920. Cologne, Germany. Ludwig Museum
Bauhaus. 1922–1932
Walter Gropius, founder of the Higher School of Construction and Artistic Design (Bauhaus), invited Kandinsky to head the wall painting workshop. Simultaneously with teaching, Vasily Vasilyevich publishes the book “Point and Line on a Plane”, participates in exhibitions in the USA and gives lectures there.
More geometry appears in his painting, especially circles: "The circle I use in Lately so often, can only be called romantic. And today’s romance is significantly deeper, more beautiful, more meaningful and more beneficial: it is a piece of ice in which fire burns. And if people feel only cold and do not feel fire, so much the worse for them..."
In 1932, the National Socialists who came to power in Germany closed the Bauhaus - and the Kandinsky couple moved to France.
Parisian years. 1933–1944
Parisian painting masters reacted very coolly to Kandinsky's arrival, because they did not like, firstly, foreigners, and secondly, abstractionism. Therefore, the artist communicates only with friends and continues to experiment with a brush in his hands. The colors in his paintings fade, and the forms become more biomorphic. The public and his colleagues did not understand or accept his art, but Kandinsky remained true to himself: “Abstract art creates next to the “real” new world, seemingly having nothing in common with “reality.” Inside, it obeys the general laws of the “cosmic world.” Thus, next to the “world of nature” a new “world of art” appears - a very real, concrete world. Therefore, I prefer to call so-called “abstract art” concrete art.”.
Back in the 1910s, Kandinsky created four stage compositions: “Green Sound”, “Purple Curtain”, “Black and White” and “Yellow Sound”. The latter was considered the most significant and interesting. Her libretto was published in the anthology "The Blue Rider" in 1912.
In 1914, Kandinsky, together with composer Thomas Hartmann, was preparing a production of The Yellow Sound in Munich. According to his plan, the composition harmoniously combined music, color, plasticity and words, that is, an orchestra, color projectors, pantomime and singers. But the first World War disrupted Kandinsky's plans. This work was first staged only on May 12, 1972 at the Guggenheim Museum.
Wassily Kandinsky was not born an artist; he came to painting quite late - at the age of 30. However, over the remaining half century, he managed to become famous not only for his paintings, but also for his theoretical treatises, the most famous of which is “On the Spiritual in Art.” Largely thanks to this work, Kandinsky is known throughout the world as the founder of abstract art.
Childhood and youth
Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky was born on December 4 (16), 1866 in Moscow into a noble family. The father, the famous businessman Vasily Silvestrovich, came from the ancient Kyakhta family of the Kandinskys, who were considered descendants of the kings of the Mansi Kondinsky principality. Great-grandmother is a princess from the Tunguska family of the Gantimurovs.
The family spent most of their fortune on travel. During the first 5 years after Vasily's birth, they traveled around Russia and Europe, settling in Odessa in 1871. Here the future artist received a classical education, while simultaneously developing creatively. A private teacher taught him to play the piano and cello and draw. IN at a young age the boy skillfully handled the brush and combined what seemed to be incongruously bright colors. Later, this feature formed the basis for the painting style he developed - abstractionism.
The parents did not consider their son's talent. By their will, in 1885, Wassily Kandinsky entered Moscow University at the Faculty of Law, Department of Political Economy and Statistics. Having missed two years due to illness, he successfully completed his studies in 1893.
Since 1895 he worked in the Moscow printing house “Partnership of I. N. Kushnever and Co.” artistic director. In 1896, an invitation was received to take the place of professor of law at the University of Dorpat, but Vasily Vasilyevich refused in favor of realizing himself as an artist.
Painting and creativity
As Wassily Kandinsky wrote in his diaries, the decision to become an artist was influenced by two events: the exhibition of French impressionists in 1895, where, among other things, “Haystack” was shown, and the opera “Lohengrin” in Bolshoi Theater. At the moment when the future great artist and the art theorist realized his true purpose, he turned 30 years old.
In 1896 Kandinsky entered the private school Anton Azhbe in Munich. There he received his first tips on building a composition, working with shape and color. The unusual nature of his work became the subject of ridicule from his fellow painters. Realist Igor Grabar recalled:
“He painted small landscape sketches, using not a brush, but a palette knife and applying bright colors separate planks. The resulting sketches were motley and in no way coordinated. We all treated them with restraint and joked among ourselves about these exercises in “purity of colors.” Kandinsky also did not do very well with Azhbe and did not shine with his talents at all.”
The riot of colors was not to the taste of the German painter Franz von Stuck, with whom Vasily Vasilyevich studied at the Munich Academy of Arts. Because of this, Kandinsky painted black and white works throughout 1900, focusing on graphics. A year later, the future abstract artist opened the Münchner Malschule Phalanx school, where he met Gabrielle Münter, a young promising artist. She became Kandinsky's muse and lover.
At that time, from under the brush of Vasily Vasilyevich came rich in colors landscapes: " Old city", "Blue Mountain", "Street in Murnau with women", " Autumn landscape", etc. There was also a place for portraits, for example, "Two on a Horse."
In 1911, Kandinsky wrote his first book, “On the Spiritual in Art.” In fact, the treatise became the first theoretical justification for the emergence of such a genre as abstract art. Vasily Vasilyevich talked about the means of embodiment of creativity: color, shape, thickness of lines. In 1914, the abstractionist began working on his second theoretical work, which was called “Point and Line on a Plane.” It was published in 1926.
The war of 1914 forced Kandinsky to return to his homeland, Moscow. He taught at the Free Workshops, then at the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops. In classes, he promoted a free style of writing, which is why he often came into conflict with fellow realists. Vasily Vasilyevich objected:
“Just because an artist uses abstract means of expression does not mean that he is an abstract artist. That doesn't even mean he's an artist. There are just as many dead triangles (be they white or green) as there are dead chickens, dead horses and dead guitars. You can become a “realistic academic” just as easily as you can become an “abstract academic.”
After the Bauhaus closed in 1933, Kandinsky immigrated to Paris. In France, abstractionism as a genre was absent in principle, so the public did not accept the artist’s innovative creations. Trying to adapt, Vasily Vasilyevich relied on form and composition, softening the bright, catchy colors. He created the paintings “Sky Blue” and “Complex and Simple”, playing on contrasts.
Personal life
IN personal life Wassily Kandinsky had three women.
Anna Filippovna Chemyakina was the artist’s cousin and was 6 years older. The wedding took place in 1892, more out of loneliness than out of love.
In 1902, Kandinsky met the German artist Gabriele Münter. A year later, the couple got engaged, despite the fact that Chemyakin gave a divorce only in 1911.
Young Munter, who was 11 years younger, wanted to become Vasily Vasilyevich’s wife. But the artist delayed this moment, often traveling without a companion. In the spring of 1916 he left for Moscow, promising to prepare papers for marriage. And he kept his promise - he got married in the winter of 1917. True, not Munter, but Nina Nikolaevna Andreevskaya, whom I met by telephone in 1916.
Then Nina was 17 years old, and Kandinsky was almost 50, and on joint photos they looked more like a daughter and her father. But their love seemed pure and sincere.
“I was surprised by his stunning blue eyes...” Nina wrote about their first meeting.
At the end of 1917, their son Vsevolod was born, who was affectionately named Lodya. Less than three years had passed since the boy died. Since then, the topic of children has become taboo in the Kandinsky family.
Death
Wassily Kandinsky lived long life- death overtook him at the 78th year of his life in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
The tragedy happened on December 13, 1944. The body rests in the New Cemetery of Neuilly, in the communes of Puteaux.
No. 1. In 1926, David Paladin, a future soldier-cartographer, was born in Chinley, Arizona. During the war years he was captured, and the young man ended up in a concentration camp. He endured all possible bullying until one day the prisoners were released. Since Paladin showed no signs of life, he was taken along with hundreds of others to be buried. On the way, the soldier began to stir. He was urgently taken to the hospital.
The young man spent two and a half years in a coma, and when he regained consciousness, he introduced himself as Wassily Kandinsky in pure Russian. As proof of the honesty of the words spoken, the now former soldier painted a picture that art critics considered suitable for the style of the great abstractionist.
After leaving the hospital, David, nicknamed the New Kandinsky, continued to paint, got a job as a teacher at the Arizona College of Art, and then opened his own school. He painted more than 130 canvases under Kandinsky's signature.
It is said that Paladin was once hypnotized. He talked about “his” biography: he was born in Moscow in the family of a businessman, studied in Odessa, had three wives. And all this - in the voice of Kandinsky. At the end of the session the young man said:
“But why is there no peace for my soul even after death? Why did she possess this man? Maybe in order to complete the unfinished cycle of paintings...”
No. 2. Wassily Kandinsky's cousin, Victor, is a renowned psychiatrist whose only patient was himself. At the age of 30, Victor had his first attack of the disease, which later became known as schizophrenia. The psychiatrist was tormented by auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, and “open thoughts” syndrome. He, realizing that he was not healthy, began research. On their basis, Victor Kandinsky wrote treatises “On Pseudohallucinations” and “On the Question of Insanity,” which proved that schizophrenia is treatable.
True, in practice the patient’s biography had a sad ending - during another attack The psychiatrist wrote this:
“I swallowed so many grams of opium. I’m reading Tolstoy’s “Cossacks.” It becomes difficult to read. I can't write anymore, I can't see clearly anymore. Sveta! Sveta!".
Victor died at 40 years old.
No. 3. Wassily Kandinsky wrote prose poetry. In 1913, the collection “Sounds” was published, which included seven works.
Works
- 1901 – “Summer”
- 1903 – “The Blue Rider”
- 1905 – “Gabriel Munter”
- 1908-1909 – “Blue Mountain”
- 1911 – “All Saints”
- 1914 – “Fugue”
- 1923 – “In the Black Square”
- 1924 – “Black accompaniment”
- 1927 – “Peaks on the Arc”
- 1932 – “Right to Left”
- 1936 – “Dominant Curve”
- 1939 – “Complicated and Simple”
- 1941 – “Various Incidents”
- 1944 – “Ribbon with squares”
There are probably no people who, upon first acquaintance with Kandinsky’s work, would recognize his genius. The first glance at his “compositions”, “improvisations” and “impressions” provokes different thoughts: from “a child could paint this” to “what did the artist want to depict in this picture?” And upon deeper acquaintance, it turns out that the artist did not intend to depict anything, he wanted to make you feel.
The great discoverer of abstraction, Wassily Kandinsky, had absolutely no intention of becoming an artist, much less a philosopher of the art world. On the contrary, his father, the famous Moscow businessman of that time Vasily Silvestorovich Kandinsky, saw him as a successful lawyer, which led the future abstract artist to the law faculty of Moscow University, where he studied political economics and statistics. Of course, Kandinsky grew up in an intelligent family that did not deny the importance of art in a person’s life, therefore, as a young man, Vasily received basic knowledge in the world of music and painting. But he returned to them only after he turned 30, which once again confirmed the simple truth - it’s never too late to start. Despite his love for his homeland, in particular for Moscow, which will appear on his canvases more than once, Kandinsky in 1896, for the sake of his passion for painting, moved to Munich - a city famous at that time for its openness to new genres of art and hospitality for aspiring artists . The impetus for leaving the usual way of life and going into the unknown was a reason completely unrelated to art - a very big thing happened in the world of physics. an important event- discovery of the decomposition of the atom. As Kandinsky himself wrote in his letters to his scientific supervisor, this revolution in the world of physics gave him strange feelings: “Thick vaults collapsed. Everything became unfaithful, shaky and soft...".
The fact that the smallest particle is not integral, but consists of many still unexplored elements, led the future artist to a new worldview. Kandinsky realized that everything in this world can be broken down into separate components, and he himself described this feeling as follows:
“It (the discovery) resonated within me like the sudden destruction of the entire world.”.
Another reason for a complete revolution in Kandinsky’s consciousness was the exhibition of French impressionists brought to Moscow. On it he saw Claude Monet’s painting “Haystack”. This work struck Vasily Vasilyevich with its pointlessness, since before that he was familiar exclusively with realistic painting Russian artists. Despite the fact that the plot is difficult to guess in the picture, it touches certain feelings, inspires and remains in the memory. It was precisely such deep and moving works that Kandinsky decided to create.
In Germany, Wassily Kandinsky quickly mastered classical drawing, the techniques of the Impressionists, Post-Impressionists and Fauves, and soon became a recognized avant-garde artist. In 1901, his first professional painting, “Munich. Planegg 1", which combined Van Gogh's bright brushstrokes and gentle sunlight impressionists. Subsequently, Kandinsky in his work began to move away from the detailing of his creations, moving from realism to experiments with color.
"Munich. Planegg 1" (1901) – Private Collection
The first step on the path to abstraction was the writing of the philosophical treatise “On the Spiritual in Art” in 1910. The book was far ahead of its time, so it was very difficult to find a publisher for it. An interesting fact is that the original was written by Kandinsky in German, and the book was published in Russian only in 1967 in New York thanks to the International Literary Commonwealth and the artist’s wife, Nina Kandinskaya. The book was published in the original language in Munich in 1911 and was an incredible success. During the year it was published 3 times, and in Scandinavia, Switzerland and Holland, where it is distributed German, the book was read by everyone who had at least some connection to art. Russian avant-garde artists had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the contents of the treatise at the All-Russian Congress of Artists in December 1911 thanks to the report of N.I. Kulbin "On the spiritual in art." In it, he used some chapters of Kandinsky's book, including a chapter on the different possible geometric forms in abstract art, which greatly influenced the leading Russian artists of the time, including Kazimir Malevich. But Kandinsky’s work is not a textbook. “On the Spiritual in Art” is a philosophical, very subtle and inspiring work, without which it is simply impossible to understand and experience the paintings of the great abstractionist. At the very beginning of the book, Kandinsky divides all artists into 2 types, based on the definitions of Robert Schumann and Leo Tolstoy. The composer believed that “the calling of an artist is to send light into the depths of the human heart,” and the writer called the artist the person “who can draw and write anything.” The second definition is alien to Kandinsky; he himself calls such people “artisans” whose work is not filled with meaning and has no value.
“There is a crack in our soul, and the soul, if it can be touched, sounds like a cracked precious vase found in the depths of the earth.”
Music has always had a great influence on the artist, since it is the only absolutely abstract art, forcing our imagination to work, avoiding objectivity. Just as notes form a beautiful melody, so Kandinsky’s colors in their combination give birth to amazing paintings. The overture of Richard Wagner's opera most inspired the aspiring artist. After meeting her, Kandinsky wondered whether he could create a painting with the same strong emotional content as the work of the great composer, “in which the colors would become notes, and the color scheme would become the tonality?”
In his search for an answer to this question, Kandinsky was helped by his acquaintance with the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg. In January 1911, in Munich, the artist heard the atonal works of his future friend and ally and was shocked. Thanks to Schoenberg’s concert, the master’s not yet completely abstract, but already almost non-objective painting “Impression III” was born. Concert". The dark triangle in the picture symbolizes the piano; below you can see the crowd attracted by the music, and the color scheme perfectly reflects that vivid impression, which Kandinsky received at a Schoenberg concert.
Kandinsky was confident that Schoenberg would correctly perceive his philosophy of abstract creativity, and he was not mistaken. The composer supported the artist in his endeavors with color experiments and the search for “anti-logical” harmony, in which feelings, rather than plot, would come first. But not all artists shared this point of view, which led to a split among artists and the creation of a community of like-minded abstractionists, the Blue Horseman. Teaming up with artists August Macke, Franz Marc and Robert Delaney and, of course, composer Arnold Schoenberg, Kandinsky finally finds himself in an environment that promotes the transition to complete abstraction in his work, the search for new forms and color combinations.
“In general, color is a means by which one can directly influence the soul. Color is the key; eye - hammer; the soul is a multi-string piano. The artist is the hand that, through this or that key, expediently sets the human soul into vibration.”
It is impossible to argue with Kandinsky in this statement, because many modern research proves that color influences even our primitive desires and states: everyone knows that red stimulates appetite, green calms us down, and yellow adds vigor and energy to us. And by combining different colors and shapes in a painting, you can influence deeper feelings. This is what the great artist wanted to achieve. Kandinsky's experiments influenced many artists of the early 20th century, including Paul Klee, who before meeting the founder of the Blue Rider was a graphic artist who avoided multi-colored paintings, and after that was known for his delicate, in some sense naive watercolors . The Swiss shared the abstract artist's love of music and his idea that art should evoke strong emotions, help a person listen to the inner self and gain an understanding of the processes occurring in the environment.
“Art does not reproduce what is visible, but makes visible what is not always so.” (c) Paul Klee
It was with this message that Kandinsky began to paint his paintings after 1911. For example, in our Tretyakov Gallery you can see one of the artist’s most significant and large-scale works, written in 1913 - “Composition VII”. The artist does not give any clues to the plot: in the picture there is only color and shape, distributed on a huge canvas (the work is considered the largest of all Kandinsky’s works - 2x3m). The scale made it possible to place fragments of different intensity and color in the painting: sharp-angled, thin, mostly dark elements in the center and smoother shapes and delicate colors around the perimeter allow us to experience different sensations when looking at the same picture. The dark tones on the right contrast with the light in this painting, with circles with fuzzy edges cut through by hard, straight lines. Kandinsky's compositions are a combination of the incongruous, a search for harmony in chaos; these are works that are more like music, since they are the most abstract. It is these works that are considered the main conductors of the artist’s philosophy and the culmination of all his work.
Also realizing that most people need hints to understand his art, Kandinsky continues to write his “Improvisations”, in which subtle (and in individual works and quite obvious) thread connecting abstraction with reality, thanks to concrete elements. For example, in several paintings we can see images of boats and ships: this motif appears when the artist wants to tell us about how a person fights with the world around him, as if sailing ships resist waves and the elements.
In some paintings we can barely make out the masts, as in the painting “Improvisation 2 8 (Battleship)”, created on the eve of the First World War, while in other paintings the image of the ship is visible at first glance, as in “ Improvisation 209,” written in 1917, when the spirit of revolution was felt throughout Russia.
Another frequent element found in the Improvisations are the horsemen, who characterize the aspirations of the people. The image of warriors on horseback was of particular significance for Kandinsky as a man who constantly fought against established norms and canons for the sake of his beliefs. It is no coincidence that the name of the club of creative like-minded abstractionists contains this allegory.
While Kandinsky's "Compositions" are thought out to the smallest detail, and the arrangement of figures and use certain colors are absolutely conscious, then when writing “Improvisations” the artist was guided by processes of an internal nature, showing his sudden unconscious emotions.
Noticeable changes in the creative path of Wassily Kandinsky occurred during his return to Moscow in 1914. As a citizen of Russia, the artist was forced to leave Germany during the war and continue to make art in his homeland. From 1914 to 1921, he lived in Moscow and promoted his ideas to the masses, collaborated with the government in preparing museum reform, developed artistic pedagogy and was inspired by his hometown.
"Moscow: duality, complexity, highest degree mobility, collision and confusion of individual elements of appearance... I consider this external and internal Moscow the starting point of my quest. Moscow is my picturesque tuning fork"
During his stay in Russia, the artist rushed between different genres and even depicted Moscow in sufficient detail (relative to all of his work), and at some point he returned to impressionistic sketches.
Throughout the creative path of Wassily Kandinsky, we see many different genres, techniques and subjects. In the same year, an artist could create both a fairly concrete work with a meaning understandable to the general public and a complete abstraction. This fact emphasizes the versatility of his personality, the desire for new knowledge and techniques and, of course, the constant development of the creative genius within himself. An artist, teacher, music connoisseur, writer and, of course, philosopher of the art world, Wassily Kandinsky leaves no one indifferent, because his main task was to make people feel, experience, and experience emotions. And he achieved this goal thanks to the cultural heritage that he left for future generations.
Where to see Kandinsky's paintings in Russia?
- Astrakhan Art Gallery them. B. M. Kustodieva
- Yekaterinburg Museum fine arts
- Krasnodar regional Art Museum them. F. Kovalenko
- Krasnoyarsk Museum of Fine Arts
- State Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val, Moscow
- State Museum of Fine Arts named after. A.S. Pushkin, Moscow
- Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum
- Ryazan State Regional Art Museum named after. I.P. I'm sorry
- State Hermitage Museum, Main Headquarters, Saint Petersburg
- Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
- Museum complex of the Tyumen region
The work of Wassily Kandinsky is an exact step-by-step reflection of his life path. Everything that the artist felt, internal experiences, perception of the realities of life is reflected in his paintings. WITH early childhood Kandinsky had a talent for painting, but he became a lawyer and was awarded the title of associate professor with the right to teach. One single event changes his entire worldview, and he decides to become an artist. The future founder of his own movement in abstract art will see the creation of Claude Monet. He decides to create himself, initially painting in the style of impressionism. Kandinsky's most famous paintings are listed below.
The artist's post-impressionist work is dedicated to his student and lover. He drew her from the back, how she works (draws, creates) against the backdrop of an autumn park. Kandinsky for his entire creative life painted very few portraits, but depicted his beloved in several of his famous paintings Oh. Munter’s face is not visible, but this is not the main thing; attention is attracted by the play of colors and how the artist’s figure is clearly different from the surrounding background. Gabrielle Munter played a major role in Kandinsky's development as an abstract artist. Even after parting with the artist due to the outbreak of the First World War, she preserved his works, which he left in Germany in the house of Murnau.
Blue Rider
"Blue Rider" The artist’s rather small canvas (compared to other paintings by the author) belongs to early period formation Kandinsky artist. But some experts already see in these works the prerequisites for abstraction, which will become his style much later. Fuzzy outlines and free strokes convey the author’s idea that what is depicted is not important, the main thing is what the viewer of the picture feels. This peculiar philosophy of the artist is transferred to his slaves in the style of abstract art. Also the name of the painting creative association, created together with Franz Marc. But Kandinsky never connected the name of the association with his famous painting.
Composition VII
"Composition VII". Like earlier paintings of this logical chain, Composition VII is dedicated to the theme of the apocalypse. The main topic the painting is – Last Judgment, however, what distinguishes it from Compositions V and VI is the abundance light colors. The picture does not reflect oppression, fear and horror, on the contrary, the liberation of the soul from material existence into light, better world. Judging by Gabrielle Munter's notes, it was painted in just four days, but the preparatory process for the world-famous painting took many months. Many sketches and precise plans were made, about 30 sketches, in addition to many sketches in oil, watercolors, and engravings.
Several laps
"A few laps." Making this famous painting falls on the most fruitful period in Kandinsky's work. This is the culmination of the artist's work with circles in the style of abstract art. In the same year, Kandinsky published a book of his judgments and thoughts about abstract art. In the book, he discusses the musical and emotional equivalents of colors. The painting was painted in 1926, when the famous Bauhaus moved from Weimar to Dessau. Until 1933, when the Nazis came to power, the artist painted more than 300 watercolors and 160 oil paintings. But the Bauhaus was closed and Kandinsky hastily moved to Paris. Many works written during this period were destroyed.
Capricious
"Capricious". Kandinsky spent his childhood and youth in Odessa, a port city. And in many of the artist’s works one can trace marine theme. This picture a clear confirmation of this. At first glance, the images in the famous painting are quite understandable. In the center is a boat or ship, you can distinguish waves, fish, crew and flags, but do not forget that this is abstract art. It’s worth looking a little differently and this is no longer a sea vessel, but a cosmic one and the elements are all similar to cosmic bodies. For some it looks like a fantastic fish. This painting by Kandinsky is considered a little humorous, playful in relation to the rest of the author’s works.
Composition VIII
"Composition VIII". Kandinsky was a deeply religious person, and this might not be reflected in the artist’s work. Being a continuation of the apocalyptic line, the creation of the picture took place during a period when rationality, rigor and logic prevailed in the author’s works. It was then that he wrote his famous book “Point and Line on a Plane,” describing psychological significance every figure in the paintings. The author understood that it would be difficult for the average person to understand the full depth of thought, so he recommended not to focus on every detail. The artist advises trying to channel the emotions emanating from the painting through yourself, to feel the music in the shapes and lines.
Two on a horse
"Two on a horse." One of the earliest and famous works Kandinsky, at first glance, has nothing in common with his more late works and style. But even here you can see the prerequisites in the form of bright spots and lines. Not a clear image of people's faces hints that their emotions are not main idea. The picture exudes calm and tranquility. The direction of movement indicates that the riders are returning home, they do not control the horse, it carries them itself. Such hints provide wide scope for philosophical reflection. The river flowing nearby also hints at the frailty of life.
Color Sketch: Squares with Concentric Circles
"Color Sketch: Squares with concentric circles». Famous painting the artist is a transitional moment in Kandinsky’s work from chaos to strict geometry. Some impetus for this was the exhibition of his paintings in 1912, which was coldly received by critics. However, after the exhibition, the name of Kandinsky became known throughout the world. 1913 “Color Sketch: Squares with Concentric Circles” is created. The artist begins to study audience feedback regarding his paintings. Notes which figures and colors have positive or negative emotions on them, what associations this or that picture evokes. Reveals nuances that not only please the eye, but also touch the strings of the soul.
Blue sky
"Blue sky". After a forced move from Germany to Paris, Kandinsky again returned to figure painting. But it is quite difficult to call it such, since it is a mixture of abstract art. The shapes, lines and colors give a clear hint of abstraction. Paintings from this period are distinguished by their playful form. Certain creatures depicted in the famous painting “Blue Sky” make one doubt that this is the sky. Maybe it's a sea with fish, squid and jellyfish swimming in it. The author does not define these creatures, thereby leaving room for imagination. Each viewer will see what is closest to him.
View of Murnau
"View of Murnau". For a long time Kandinsky lived in Murnau with his beloved Gabrielle Münter. Among the artist’s works are many famous paintings with landscapes in which he depicts his home and local nature. Located at the foot of the Alps, the city and the beauty around it inspired the artist. In the paintings created during this period of Kandinsky’s work, deviations from the figured image can already be traced, the play of lines and spots comes to the fore. It is at this point that the artist rethinks his work and thinks more about non-objective art. One day he sees a painting with an amazing play of colors, but in the twilight he does not recognize his painting, standing upside down. He understands that it doesn’t matter what is depicted in the picture, the main thing is what emotions it evokes in the viewer.
