Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)
Kandinsky, who was born in Russia, but spent most of
his life in Germany and France, is probably the most important artist
amongst the early abstract painters. Not only has he some claims to
being the first to paint abstract (which is disputable), but he was
also an influential theorist of art. His book, Concerning the Spiritual in Art and Painting in Particular,
published in 1912, is as fresh as ever after nearly a century. So are
his paintings. On the works of Kandinsky it is easy to follow the
painter's progress, from the early Expressionist and Fauvist paintings,
which are still essentially representational, to a pure abstraction.
Let's go on the journey of discovery of painting style with him.
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This painting could have easily
been done by someone like Cézanne. Obvious is already the
cerebral approach towards composition, particularly in the
artist's use of the golden section. |
A similar subject to the
previous one, but here it is treated in the Fauvist style, with
the highly contrasting colours. The strong use of colours will
remain Kandinsky's trade mark. |
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The Blue Rider (or Der Blaue
Reuter), an early version of one of Kandinsky's favourite
themes. |
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A black train riding into the
Fauvist countryside with houses. As if about to take plunge into
an unknown... |
Some figures, barely
recognizable as such, but still there. |
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A rider on a horse, one of my
favourite paintings. |
These could be some fairy tale
creatures, maybe even the Hobbits, wouldn't you say? |
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Perhaps Kandinsky might have
heard of Ned Kelly, though I doubt it. Sydney Nolan however would have heard of Kandinsky. |
There is nothing much left by
now to recognize as a regular form. |
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Some geometric abstraction is
beginning to appear. It will become more prominent in the later
paintings. |
Planets? Amoebas? Bubbles? You
decide. |
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This reminds me strongly of
some works by the Australian Aboriginal artists. |
Some geometry, with a black sun
looking on. |
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This could be a whale, swimming
somewhere near the shore. It could also be something else. |
Are there suggestions of faces
here? |
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Small Words |
Black Strokes |
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Gnomus (design for a stage play) |
Dominant Curve |
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Twilight |
Picture VVI. |
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Untitled (1942) |
Boat Trip |
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Fugue |
Upward |
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