Wassily Kandinsky Criticism
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter, critic, and poet, esteemed for his profound impact on the German Expressionist movement and the development of abstract art. Kandinsky's innovative use of vivid colors and geometric forms aimed to convey emotions and experiences through a visual language free from symbolic or narrative constraints. This radical approach reshaped traditional notions of the picture plane and significantly influenced modern art. Born in Moscow and initially trained in law and economics, Kandinsky's passion for art led him to leave academia to pursue painting in Munich. Here, he engaged with Art Nouveau and became a prominent figure in the art community by 1901. His transition to abstractionism, around 1908, marked the peak of his creative achievements, famously prompted by an incident where he admired one of his paintings turned upside down, reveling in its abstract form.
In 1912, Kandinsky co-founded the Blaue Reiter group with Gabriele Münter, Franz Marc, and August Macke, fostering dialogue across art, music, and architecture. He returned to Russia during World War I and later taught at Germany's Bauhaus school until 1933, before relocating to Paris. Kandinsky's early works echo the Fauvist style with vibrant landscapes and folkloric figures, but his "discovery" of abstraction led to compositions using black lines and colorful shapes, each hue associated with psychological states. His seminal essay, Concerning the Spiritual in Art, published in 1911, remains a pivotal text in art theory. Although some critics argue that Kandinsky's paintings did not fully realize his abstract ideals, his influence on future artists and movements is undeniable, securing his legacy as a foundational figure in abstract art, as explored by critics such as Peter Selz and Charles W. Millard.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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Secession
(summary)
In the following translation of an 1899 review, Kandinsky assesses the work shown at the 1899 Munich Secession's international exhibit. Kandinsky's review of the 1899 Munich Secession's international exhibition is his first major art essay. It appeared in Novosti dnia (News of the Day), 4 November 1899, a prominent Moscow daily newspaper covering local, national, and international events, with occasional features on literature and art. Its discovery revises the status given to Kandinsky's 1901 article 'Critique of Critics,' which has been credited by Western scholars as his first essay on art. 'Secession's' publication thus gives us some of the earliest indications of Kandinsky's views on art, when he was a student in Munich. It was written only weeks before the approaching new century at a time when Kandinsky witnessed profound changes in art whose impact would be felt for years to come.
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Esthetic Theories of Wassily Kandinsky
(summary)
In the following essay, Selz delineates the major themes of Kandinsky's theoretical writings, in particular his Concerning the Spiritual in Art and "Über die Formfrage."
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The Lucid Order of Wassily Kandinsky
(summary)
In the following essay, Read traces the development of Kandinsky's painting and philosophy of art.
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The Kandinsky Paradox
(summary)
In the following essay, Millard maintains that although Kandinsky was a great theoretician, he was not a great painter.
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Kandinsky and Problems of Abstraction
(summary)
In the following essay, Mackie explores the role of abstract form in Kandinsky's art and artistic philosophy.
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'Les Tendances Nouvelles', The Union Internationale Des Beaux-Arts, Des Lettres, Des Sciences et De L'Industrie and Kandinsky
(summary)
In the following essay, Fineberg traces Kandinsky's relationship with the influential art journal Les Tendances Nouvelles.
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Kandinsky's Vision
(summary)
In the following essay, Long analyzes the purpose and meaning of Kandinsky's On the Spiritual in Art, maintaining that the artist "attempted to resolve the dilemma of how to effectively communicate a vision of man's spirituality while avoiding both materialistic representation on the one hand and decorative ornament on the other."
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An introduction to Wassily Kandinsky: Sounds
(summary)
In the following essay, Napier provides a stylistic and thematic overview of Kandinsky's poetry.
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The Glow of Irreality
(summary)
In the following favorable review of Sounds, Spender considers the relationship between Kandinsky's poetry and his painting.
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Kandinsky's Book of Revelation
(summary)
In the following essay, Radcliff examines the apocalyptic vision in Kandinsky's seminal essay, Concerning the Spiritual in Art, and compares it to the biblical book of Revelation.
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Kandinsky: The Owl of Minerva
(summary)
In the following essay, Pester deems Kandinsky and his work an embodiment of the revolutionary ideas spreading throughout Europe during the early twentieth century.
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A review of Sounds
(summary)
In the following review, Rasula offers a positive assessment of Kandinsky's Sounds, deeming it "one of the essential books of poetry of the century, whatever one may think of Kandinsky's art."
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Occultism, Anarchism, and Abstraction: Kandinsky's Art of the Future
(summary)
In the following essay, Long determines the influence of occultism and anarchism on Kandinsky's writings and art.
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Wassily Kandinsky in the Years of On the Spiritual in Art
(summary)
In the following essay, Lipsey provides an overview of the major themes of Kandinsky's seminal essay, contending that "its essential achievement was to identify the new art as a legitimate language of the spirit and to lay groundwork for a way of thinking, particularly about abstract art, that made sense."
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Kandinsky at the Klavier: Stevens and the Musical Theory of Wassily Kandinsky
(summary)
In the following essay, Faherty explores Wallace Stevens's interest in Kandinsky's work.
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The Third Dimension: Ezra Pound and Wassily Kandinsky
(summary)
In the following essay, Faherty determines the influence of Kandinsky's theoretical writings on the work of the poet Ezra Pound.
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Kandinsky's Ethnography: Scientific Field Work and Aesthetic Reflection
(summary)
In the following essay, McKay discusses Kandinsky's ethnographic essay 'From Materials on the Ethnography of the Sysol and Vechegda Zyrians: The National Deities' and relates it to his autobiographical essay 'Reminiscences.' This article explores how, in two essays written at separate moments of his adult career, Wassily Kandinsky represented the same ethnographic fieldwork experience in quite differing terms. The initial analysis of his ethnographic essay will constitute the framework for a narrowly focused reading of passages in 'Reminiscences' that give a poeticized and personalized account of his 1889 field work, suggesting surprising points of contact between the apparently discrete discourses of art and science.
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Vassily Kandinsky: Art With No Object, 1911-1912
(summary)
In the following essay, Everdell investigates Kandinsky 's prolific output during the year 1911-1912.
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Concerning the Western Spiritual in Russian Art: Vasily Kandinsky
(summary)
In the following essay, Williams chronicles Kandinsky's interest in religious mysticism and theosophy and discusses its influence on his work.
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Secession
(summary)
- Further Reading