guggenheim kandinsky

7212019 Guggenheim Kandinsky

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguggenheim-kandinsky 116

Born in Moscow to a wealthy family VasilyKandinsky (1866ndash1944) spent his earlychildhood in Odessa Russia (now Ukraine)His parents instilled in him an early loveof music that later influenced his workThough he studied law and economics atthe University of Moscow and his life seemeddestined to follow a conventional path atage 30 he abruptly decided to abandon his

legal career and devote himself to art

His decision was prompted by two importantexperiences In 1895 he attended anImpressionist exhibition where he saw aHaystack painting by French artist ClaudeMonet (1840ndash1926) Stirred by the encounterKandinsky later realized that the paintingsrsquocolor and composition not their subjectmatter caused his response At a concert in1896 he noticed that music can elicit an

emotional response without a connection toa recognizable subject This experience ledhim to believe that painting should aspire tobe as abstract as music

In 1896 Kandinsky left Russia for Munichwhere he studied art and began to pursue hisnew career In 1908 while in his early 40s hebegan developing a range of artistic toolsgradually stripping away recognizable imageryfrom his work Kandinsky participated in

several of the 20th centuryrsquos most influentialand controversial art movements amongthem the group Der Blaue Reiter (The BlueRider) which he founded in 1911 with Germanartist Franz Marc (1880ndash1916) As Kandinskystated ldquoWe thought up the name while

sitting at a cafeacute table Both of us werefond of blue things Marc of blue horses andI of blue riders So the title suggested itselfrdquo 1 In 1912 Kandinskyrsquos book Uumlber das Geistigein der Kunst ( On the Spiritual in Art ) thefirst theoretical treatise on abstraction

was published It examined the capacity ofcolor to communicate the artistrsquos innermostpsychological and spiritual concerns

Kandinskyrsquos life was strongly affected by thewars and politics that raged in Europe duringthe early 20th century With the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914 Kandinsky left Germanyand moved back to Moscow Following theRussian Revolution in 1917 he remained inRussia and in 1921 returned to Germany

In 1929 he became a German citizenmdashoneof the three nationalities he held during hislife along with Russian and Frenchmdashbutthe Nazisrsquo rise to power and their closure in1933 of the degenerate Bauhaus where hetaught forced him to move to FranceDespite the war and German occupation ofFrance his works were shown in smallexhibitions In 1939 he became a Frenchcitizen and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine outsideParis in 1944 His reputation had been firmly

established in the United States throughnumerous shows and his introduction toAmerican collectors including Solomon RGuggenheim who became one of his mostenthusiastic supporters

983100 ABOUT THE ARTIST 983102

Vasily Kandinsky Berlin January 1922Centre Pompidou Bibliothegraveque Kandinsky Paris





In the first years of the 20th centuryKandinsky gradually defined his artistic focusAfter a year as a student at the MunichAcademy of Fine Arts Kandinsky looked for amore experimental environment and formedthe progressive artistsrsquo association in Munichknown as Phalanx Here he met the youngGerman painter Gabriele Muumlnter (1877ndash1962)who would become his companion He

enriched his experiences with almost constanttravel taking extended trips through AustriaGermany Holland Italy Switzerland andTunisia

Beginning in 1905 Kandinsky becameinvolved with the most revolutionarypractitioners and styles in the Parisian artworld finding inspiration in the expressivequalities of Post-Impressionism and the jarringand luminous colors of the Fauves He sawpaintings by French artists Paul Gauguin(1848ndash1903) and Henri Matisse (1869ndash1954)as well as Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh(1853ndash1890) Their dramatic use of color hadan impact on Kandinsky and gradually thecolor in his paintings became more brilliant

In these initial years of artistic orientationKandinsky borrowed many motifs from myths

and legends including references to medievalRussia folklore and nostalgic images of hishomeland Creating these fantastic pictorialworlds allowed him to deal with colors andforms more freely and break away fromnaturalistic rendering

In Colorful Life ( Motley Life ) ( Das bunteLeben 1907) Kandinsky positions the viewer

slightly above the action gliding over amultifigure panorama of humanity from afreely imagined time in ancient Russianhistory composed of dazzling colored spotsagainst a dark background Pleasant momentscontrast with more somber events Thefigures such as the rider the loving coupleand the rower on the peaceful river in thebackground as well as the Kremlin with itscolorful towers and domes on the massive hillall appear again in later pictures More thanonce in his writings Kandinsky refers to thispainting as crucial to his artistic development

983100 FORMATIVE YEARS AND TRAVELS 983089983097983088983088991251983088983095 983102

Colorful Life ( Motley Life ) ( Das bunte Leben ) 1907 Tempera on canvas130 x 1625 cm Bayerische Landesbank on permanent loan to the

Staumldtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus Munich

ldquoIn [my picture] Colorful Life where the task that charmed me most was that of creating a confusionof masses patches lines I used a lsquobirdrsquos eye viewrsquo to place the figures one above the otherrdquo 2



EXPLORATIONS Show Colorful Life 1907

This paintingrsquos title Colorful Lifesuggests that Kandinsky was interestedin showing us not only a canvas filled

with colors but also one including aheterogeneous often incongruousmixture of activities and events worldlyand spiritual past and present Askstudents how many elements they canidentify and have them create a list of allthe things they notice

Kandinsky places the viewer slightlyabove the action like a hovering bird orinsect Encourage students to imagine

that they could fly into and across theexpanse of this painting Which areaswould they like to explore more fullyWhat about those areas intrigues them

In this work Kandinsky combined light-hearted moments with more somberevents Ask students the followingquestions Can you find examples ofboth in this painting How would youdescribe the overall mood of this work

Kandinsky confides that his mainchallenge in this painting was to depictldquoa confusion of masses patches [and]linesrdquo How has the use of a birdrsquos-eyeview helped him do this Do yourstudents think he successfullyaccomplished his task

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS

bull In Colorful Life Kandinsky combines numerous objects andoccurrences into a single work We see people eating laughingand praying a mother and child a Russian Orthodox priest a

group of elders an archer aiming at a squirrel a knight inmedieval armor on horseback a bearded old man a musiciansomeone in a rowboat and a man running after a woman Byusing aerial perspective overlapping images and his imaginationKandinsky unified this mass of activities As part of his drawingclasses artist and teacher Robert Kaupelis assigned his studentsa similar task

3 The project was to create a drawing that includesan astounding number of elements and still appears cohesiveA typical list might include the following

Ask students to try this challenging exercise and share thedrawings that result

bull Art historians have asked ldquoHow is one to explain Kandinskyrsquosfondness for dark or even black backgroundsrdquo

4 In order to

consider how the background can affect a workrsquos impact studentscan use Sharpie markers to create a color design on a piece ofclear acetate When the drawing is complete they will place awhite piece of paper under the design and then a black piece ofpaper Encourage them to describe how the same work istransformed as the background changes from light to dark

bull

Throughout his career Kandinsky worked in various mediumsincluding woodcuts drawings tempera oil and watercolorpaintings and Bavarian glass painting a folk technique thatKandinsky admired for its direct expressive qualities and theluminosity of color that could be achieved by painting on glassOn the Internet the class can research these mediums andcreate works that explore at least one of them

VIEW + DISCUSS

3 mountains1 sidewalk1 hill1 car1 forest1 road4 trees (all different)1 fire hydrant1 house1 dog1 adult1 bush2 children3 telephone poles and wires

1 bike1 open window1 path1 clothesline1 cat1 mosquito2 birds1 worm1 satellite dish3 clouds1 airplane1 small crowd of people1 flower garden1 fence



For Kandinsky the years 1908ndash14 were a crucialperiod of transition and experimentation Aftertraveling through Europe and North Africa hereturned to Germany and became a leadingproponent of avant-garde painting Hisapproach changed from an almost academicstyle to one that used bold brushstrokes andstrong vibrant colors

Kandinskyrsquos paintings of 1908ndash09 seem to strikeout in several directions as though aiming toassimilate many influences Although hecontinued to evoke images from Russianfolklore and memories of his homeland hiscolors perhaps inspired by the Fauves arebolder and brighter and his forms have becomemore simplified

In 1909 the year he completed Blue Mountain( Der blaue Berg 1908ndash09) his style wasbecoming increasingly abstract andexpressionistic and the subjects of his paintingschanged from the portrayal of natural events toapocalyptic narratives By 1910 many of hiscanvases shared a common literary source thebook of Revelation with its visionary descriptionsof the conflicts between good and evil and ofthe end of the world The rider came to signify

the Horsemen of the Apocalypse who will bringepic destruction after which the world will beredeemed

Kandinskyrsquos use of the horse-and-rider motifsymbolized his crusade against conventional

aesthetic values and his dream of a bettermore spiritual future through the transformativepowers of art For Kandinsky ldquothe horse carriesthe rider quickly and sturdily The rider howeverguides the horse The artistrsquos talent carries himto great heights quickly and sturdily The artisthowever guides his talentrdquo 6 The rider isfeatured in many woodcuts temperas andoils from its first appearance in the artistrsquosfolk-inspired paintings executed in his nativeRussia at the turn of the century to hisabstracted landscapes made in Munich duringthe early 1910s

In 1911 Kandinsky and Marc founded the BlaueReiter the highly influential group of artistsfrom the worlds of visual and folk art music

and theater united by a desire to expressspiritual values in their work

On January 2 1911 Kandinsky attended aconcert of works by the Viennese composerArnold Schoumlnberg (1874ndash1951) whose ownbreak with tonal and harmonic conventionsparalleled Kandinskyrsquos challenge to figurative artKandinsky instantly sensed an affinity betweenthe music and his own move toward abstractionThe two artists began a long-standing friendship

and correspondence drawing inspiration fromone another in their search to create new modesof expression

983100 THE BLAUE REITER 983102

Blue Mountain ( Der blaue Berg 1908ndash09 Oil on canvas106 x 966 cm Solomon RGuggenheim MuseumNew York Solomon RGuggenheim FoundingCollection By gift 41505

ldquoWe thought up the name while sitting at a cafeacutetable Both of us were fond of blue things [Franz] Marc of blue horses and I of blue ridersSo the title suggested itselfrdquo5



EXPLORATIONS Blue Mountain 1908ndash09

Before showing Blue Mountain to theclass divide students into pairs Askone student to face away from the

screen so that heshe cannot see theimage while the other looks at the workand describes it in as much detail aspossible The student who is listeningshould draw the image using theinformation from the partnerrsquos verbaldescription only After ten minutesdisplay the results and discuss theexperience

What seems to be happening here Let

students imagine this scene as a singlesnapshot of a longer story What mighthave happened just before thismoment What will happen afterwardThey can write or draw their ideas

At this point in his artistic developmentKandinsky was moving away fromdepicting real-life scenes and toward amore abstract and imagined way ofpainting Discuss which parts of thiswork might have been observed andwhich seem to have been imagined


bull Kandinsky used the image of the rider on horseback in many of hisworks For him it symbolized an artistic and spiritual force thatcould vanquish materialistic thinking and battle the traditional limits

of artistic expression The rider appears in many different guises asa romantic fairy-tale figure a medieval knight and Saint Georgesaving humankind from evil Encourage students to think about anideal that they see as threatened in todayrsquos world and invent asymbol that embodies triumph over that danger

bull Kandinsky and Schoumlnberg established a strong friendship partiallybased on their shared their artistic aspirations Listen to musiccomposed by Schoumlnberg Discuss which qualities in his musicmight have appealed to Kandinsky What about his music mighthave seemed as daring and experimental as the paintingsKandinsky was creating

bull In 1912 Klaumlnge ( Sounds ) Kandinskyrsquos book of poems and woodcutswas published His poem ldquoBassoonrdquo begins with the following lines

Very large houses suddenly collapsed Small houses remained standingA fat hard egg-shaped orange-cloud suddenly hung over the town Itseemed to hang on to the pointed point of the steep spindly town hall towerand radiated violet

7

Another poem ldquoSeeingrdquo opens with the following lines

Blue Blue got up got up and fellSharp Thin whistled and shoved but didnrsquot get throughFrom every corner came a humming

FatBrown got stuckmdashit seemed for all eternity It seemed It seemedYou must open your arms wider

Wider Wider8

The subjects of Kandinskyrsquos poems are wide-ranging and includeunlikely transformations in an illogical universe Have students writetheir own poems Like Kandinsky they should allow their imaginationsto invent unusual events and settings Then they can create an imageto accompany their writings

VIEW + DISCUSS



In 1896 just as he was embarking on his careeras an artist Kandinsky attended a performanceof Lohengrin (1850) an opera by the Germancomposer Richard Wagner (1813ndash1883) at theBolshoi Theatre in Moscow While listening tothe music he began to see colors and imagesThis experience influenced Kandinskyrsquos theorieson the relationship between music and paintingby which he equated the sounds of the orchestrarsquosinstruments with colors in the artistrsquos palette

Another milestone occurred in 1910 when heaccidentally discovered nonrepresentational artAs he returned home at sunset he entered hisstudio and was struck by an ldquoindescribablybeautiful picture pervaded by an inner glowrdquo 10 He could distinguish forms and colors only andno meaning He soon realized that it was oneof his paintings turned on its side Soon after hebegan working on paintings that came to beconsidered the first totally abstract works inmodern art

By 1913 Kandinskyrsquos aesthetic theories andaspirations were well developed He hadmastered the abstract style of expression andhoned his technical skills By carefully choosingcolors shapes and lines he sought to elicitspecific emotional responses from viewers Hebelieved that the inner vision of an artist could

be translated into universal visual statements

Kandinsky realized that in order to foster publicacceptance he would need to develop his styleslowly Critics panned several of his earlyexhibitions and even some fellow artistsfrowned on his more abstract works Thereforein most of his work from this period he retainedfragments of recognizable imagery Paintingwith White Border (Moscow) ( Bild mit wei β emRand [Moskau] May 1913) for instance wasKandinskyrsquos response to ldquothose extremelypowerful impressions [he] had experienced inMoscowmdashor more correctly of Moscow itselfrdquo 11 To illustrate the cityrsquos spirit he included anextremely abbreviated image of a troika drivenby a trio of horses (the three diagonal blacklines in the upper-left portion of the canvas)

Over the course of just a few years Kandinskyhad transformed his work from small-scaleinterpretations of nature to large invented andexpressive personal statements but this creativeperiod that began in 1908 ended abruptly in1914 with the outbreak of World War I

Painting with White Border (Moscow) ( Bild mit wei β em Rand [Moskau] )May 1913 Oil on canvas 1403 x 2003 cm Solomon R Guggenheim Museum

New York Solomon R Guggenheim Founding Collection By gift 37245

983100 TOWARD ABSTRACTION 983089983097983089983088991251983089983092 983102

ldquoIt is only over the years that I have learned to exercise patience in such moments and not smash the picture over my knee Thus it was not unti l after nearly f ive months that i t suddenly dawned onme what was missingmdashthe white edge Since the white edge proved the solution to the pictureI named the whole picture after itrdquo 9



EXPLORATIONS Show Painting with White Border (Moscow)May 1913

What do your students notice aboutthis painting Ask them to describe the

forms colors and lines

Kandinsky believed that colors shapesand lines could convey the artistrsquos innervision to the viewer This work wascreated in response to a visit toMoscow What do your studentssurmise about his experience of the cityfrom looking closely at his painting

The years 1908ndash14 are viewed as

Kandinskyrsquos most creative CompareBlue Mountain with Painting with WhiteBorder (Moscow) How has hisapproach changed Can your studentsalso see similarities Are there cluescontained in Blue Mountain thatsuggest how his work would evolve overthe next several years

We know from Kandinskyrsquos writingsthat for him the three curved shapes inthe upper-left portion of this paintingrepresent a troika a Russian carriagewagon or sleigh drawn by a team ofthree horses abreast Compare a photoof a troika to Kandinskyrsquos forms Whatsimilarities do students see


bull Kandinsky wrote about the process of completing this painting

From these writings we know that he imbedded personal symbolsin this work ldquoI made the first design immediately after my return

from Moscow in December 1912 In the upper left remained thetroika motif (troika = three-horse sled This is what I call the threelines curved at the top which with different variations run parallelto one another The lines of the backs of the three horses in aRussian troika led me to adopt this form) which I had long sinceharbored within merdquo 12 Although the viewer might see these formsas pure abstraction to Kandinsky they held meaning and memoryHave students select an object that has personal meaning for themand then reduce that object to its most abstract essence Discusswhich aspects of the objects they retained in their symbols and whythey consider them essential

bull Kandinsky worked on Painting with White Border (Moscow) from

December 1912 until May 1913 At least 16 drawings watercolorsand oil sketches preceded the final canvas The artist wrote abouthow after months of work the resolution suddenly occurred to himThe sudden recognition of how to solve a long-standing problem issometimes called an ldquoaha momentrdquo Ask students if they have everhad such an experience Let them describe the moment(s) and theissues that they solved

bull Kandinsky is believed to have experienced synesthesia a conditionin which sounds are perceived not only audibly but also with thevisualization of colors He developed elaborate theories about howcolors could evoke emotions as well as conjure the sounds of

musical instruments For instance Kandinsky believed that the colorred would elicit strength energy and joy He also equated red withthe sound of a trumpet Your class can learn more aboutKandinskyrsquos theories on colors emotions and sounds at the ArnoldSchoumlnberg Center Web site at schoenbergat4_exhibitsascKandinskyFarbe_ehtm and then complete the table below addingpersonal associations with various colors13

VIEW + DISCUSS

Troika

COLOR EMOTION SOUND

Yellow

Blue

Green

White

Black

Gray

Red

Brown

Orange

Violet



In 1914 Germany declared war on Russia andKandinsky was forced to leave Munich and

return to Moscow He lamented ldquoOf the 16years that I have been living in Germany I havegiven myself entirely to the German art worldHow am I now suddenly supposed to feelmyself a foreignerrdquo 15 At 50 years old he wasstarting a new life

The move to Moscow marked a profoundbreak The year 1915 was a time of depressionand self-doubt during which he did not paint asingle picture 16 In a June 1916 letter to his

companion Muumlnter he wrote ldquoI felt that my olddream was closer to coming true You know thatI dreamt of painting a big picture expressing

joy the happiness of life and the universeSuddenly I feel the harmony of colors andforms that come from this world of joyrdquo 17 During this period Kandinsky painted Moscow I( Mockba I 1916) He wrote ldquoI would love topaint a large landscape of Moscowmdashtakingelements from everywhere and combining theminto a single picturemdashweak and strong parts

mixing everything together in the same way asthe world is mixed of different elements It mustbe like an orchestrardquo 18 Moscow I contains someof the same romantic fairy-tale qualities of his

early paintings fused with dramatic forms andcolors ldquoThe sun dissolves the whole of Moscow

into a single spot which like a wild tuba sets allonersquos soul vibratingrdquo 19

The October Revolution changed everythingThe son of a tea merchant Kandinsky had beenindependently wealthy but after the RussianRevolution during which a Communist systemreplaced Czarist rule he lost his propertyduring a land redistribution Consequently hisplans to build a large studio took second placeto financial concerns such as selling work and

finding employment World War I and then theBolshevik Revolution in 1917 slowed his artisticproduction partly due to a lack of funds butalso to his work helping organize art institutionsfor the newly formed government In RussiaKandinsky came into contact with youngeravant-garde artists including Kazimir Malevich(1878ndash1935) and Alexander Rodchenko (1891ndash1956) who practiced a more pared-downreductive form of abstraction In RussiaKandinskyrsquos spiritual approach was out of step

with the dominant principles of rationalism andpure geometry Because of his artistic isolationand wartime privations Kandinsky left Russia in1921 never to return again

983100 MOSCOW 983089983097983089983092991251983090983089 gt

Moscow I ( Mockba I ) 1916 Oil on canvas 515 x 495 cmThe State Tretyakov Gallery Moscow

ldquoI am working again on my painting lsquoMoscowrsquoIt is slowly taking shape in my imagination And what was in the realm of wishing is nowassuming real forms What I have beenlacking with this idea was depth and richnessof sound very earnest complex and easy atthe same timerdquo 14



EXPLORATIONS Show Moscow I 1916

This painting is filled with Kandinskyrsquosexuberant vision of Moscow Ask yourclass to create a list of all the objects

that he has packed into this painting

Have students create a list of adjectivesthat describe this work from which theycan then write a poem titledldquoKandinskyrsquos Moscowrdquo that incorporatesmany of the words from the listEncourage them to share the poemswith the rest of the class Are theysimilar or different in tone

Ask students how they think Kandinskyfelt about Moscow How was he able toconvey those feelings in this paintingConsider the various elements in thisworkmdashincluding the lines shapes andcolorsmdashand the way they are placed onthe canvas

Kandinsky wrote ldquoI feel the generalidea but the broad composition is notyet clear At 8 in the evening I went to

the Kremlin in order to see thechurches from the viewpoint which Ineed for the picture And new richesopened up before my eyesrdquo20 In booksor on the Internet look for pictures ofthe Kremlin a fortress in the centerof Moscow that contains governmentoffices and historical architecture Whatsimilarities does the class find betweenthe photographs and the images in

Kandinskyrsquos painting What are thedifferences

After seeing Kandinskyrsquos vision askstudents if they want to visit Moscowand why or why not


bull The cityscape of Moscow Kandinskyrsquos beloved hometownprovided inspiration for more than one of his paintingsAlthough Moscow I looks quite different from Painting with

White Border (Moscow) both works were inspired by Kandinskyrsquosexperience of the city Compare and contrast these paintingsStudents will likely find many differences Can they find anysimilarities

bull Discuss places that hold strong memories and personalassociations for your students Ask each student to recall anexperience of such a location and create a work of art writtenor visual that expresses onersquos relationship with that site

bull Many artists have used their affinities with a specific place as amotivation for their work Research another artist who has used

hisher relationship experiences or memories of a site to sparkcreativity The class can write short essays about the artist andhisher work Together you can then compile a compendium ofartists who have been inspired by places

VIEW + DISCUSS



In 1922 Kandinsky was offered a teaching post atthe Bauhaus School of Design The school hadbeen formed in reaction to many centuries ofornate decoration in Western art and adhered torevolutionary and unadorned styles such asConstructivism that used modern industrialtechniques and materials Kandinskyrsquos belief inartrsquos ability to transform self and society madehim an ideal candidate for the post There hediscovered a more sympathetic environment in

which to pursue his art Even though his abstractpainting sometimes put him at odds with thestyles that took an increasingly industrialapproach to art teaching at the Bauhausenabled him to pursue his work

At the Bauhaus Kandinsky continued toinvestigate color form and their psychologicaland spiritual effects and developed a theory ofform based on geometry He believed that thetriangle embodied active and aggressive

feelings and the square represented peace andcalm The circle suggested the spiritual realm

Between 1926 and 1929 Kandinsky produced aseries of ten pictures in which the circle is theonly form culminating in his cosmic andharmonious image Several Circles ( Einige Kreise JanuaryndashFebruary 1926) During the Bauhausyears the circlersquos mystical quality assumed theimportance previously enjoyed by the ridermotif during the Munich period ldquoI love circles

today in the same way that previously I lovedeg horsesmdashperhaps even more since I find incircles more inner possibilities which is thereason why the circle has replaced the horserdquo 22

In 1933 the Bauhaus came under pressure fromthe ruling Nazi party and deprived of financialsupport the school was forced to closeKandinsky embodied everything that AdolfHitlerrsquos Germany considered undesirable Hewas Russian an abstract painter and a Bauhausteacher His work was termed ldquodegeneraterdquo bythe Nazi regime which objected to virtually allmodern art Artists working in such styles weresubject to sanctions including dismissal from

teaching positions as well as a ban on exhibitingor selling art and in some cases on producingart entirely

Kandinsky once more became an exile this timein Paris where he continued to work as an artistIn 1937 several of his earlier works were includedin the Entartete Kunst ( Degenerate Art )exhibition in Germany alongside other worksof modern art that the Nazis removed frommuseums The confiscated work was installed

with defamatory slogans in order to present itas evidence of ldquocultural declinerdquo Designed toinflame public opinion against modernism theexhibition traveled to major cities throughoutGermany and Austria and was viewed by morethan two million people

983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102

ldquoThe circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions [It] combines the concentric and the excentricin a single form and in equilibrium Of the three primary forms [triangle square circle] it points mostclearly to the fourth dimensionrdquo 21

Several Circles ( Einige Kreise ) JanuaryndashFebruary 1926 Oil on canvas1403 x 1407 cm Solomon R Guggenheim Museum New York

Solomon R Guggenheim Founding Collection By gift 41283



EXPLORATIONS Show Several Circles JanuaryndashFebruary1926

Ask students to write their responsesto the following questions

What do you seeHow do you react emotionallyto the work

What are some possibleinterpretations of the work

Discuss the studentsrsquo writingsIs there agreement or disparity intheir reflections

Ask students to imagine that thispainting was animated What sortof movement could be seen

If this painting was accompanied bymusic what type of score would theclass select for it

During this period Kandinsky wasfascinated with the circlersquos formal andexpressive qualities Do your studentsagree with Kandinskyrsquos theory that this

shape possesses special characteristicsHow would the paintingrsquos impactchange if another geometric formwas used

To Kandinsky the square representedpeace and calm and this paintingincludes a single overarching squaremdashthe shape of the canvas itselfEncourage students to imagine SeveralCircles on a differently shaped canvas

How would its impact change Explain


bull Kandinsky was an inuential teacher at the Bauhaus For one of his

drawing lessons he would assemble a still life from planks and stripsof wood The studentsrsquo objective was not to copy the still life but

rather to translate it into lines of tension or structure and recordheavy or light characteristics Another lesson asked students to placsquares of different colors on black paper and then to repeat the tawith white paper Try one or both of these lessons Discuss whatthese activities are intended to teach Ask your students what theylearned from doing them

bull Kandinsky believed that the triangle embodied active and aggressivfeelings the circle suggested the spiritual realm and the squarerepresented peace and calm

In this exercise students should write

down all the words they associate with these shapes Are theirassociations similar to or different from Kandinskyrsquos Discuss where

they agree or disagree

bull During his years at the Bauhaus Kandinsky produced a series ofpaintings that only featured circles Have students select a singlegeometric form and use it as the primary focus for a work Whenfinished reflect on whether this single form was overly restrictiveor offered sufficient opportunity for experimentation

bull The Bauhaus school which operated from 1919 to 1933 pioneerednew approaches to design photography architecture and arteducation and its influence continues to be felt today Some admirits forward-thinking views while others blame the sterile architecturof many cities on Bauhaus ideals Debate this question in class with

one team arguing for the Bauhaus approach while the other teamfocuses on the ways that its emphasis on function has faltered

bull Viewed today it is difficult to understand why Several Circles was oof the hundreds of works confiscated by the Nazi regime and labeleldquodegeneraterdquo Research this time in history and in particular the 1937Degenerate Art exhibition which showcased work that thegovernment found objectionable What threats to their ideals did thNazis see embodied in modern art Explain

VIEW + DISCUSS



In 1933 Kandinsky was forced to leave Germanydue to political pressures yet despite theturmoil his move to Paris ushered in a highlycreative period Freed from teaching andadministrative responsibilities he devotedhimself entirely to his art His late works aremarked by a general lightening of his palettewith the addition of pastel and acidic colors andthe introduction of organic imagery They alsoexpress the inventiveness cheerfulness andhumor of an older artist working peacefully inhis studio at home Breaking away from therigidity of Bauhaus geometry he turned tosofter more malleable shapes that often displaya whimsical playful quality

Although Cubism and Surrealism werefashionable in Paris Kandinsky continued topaint abstractions and defend this style throughhis writings in art journals He painted and drew

prolifically putting together an important bodyof work inspired by images from biologycreating forms that resembled embryos larvaeand invertebrates a world of minuscule livingorganisms

Kandinskyrsquos use of biomorphic forms attests tohis fascination with the organic sciencesparticularly embryology zoology and botanyDuring his Bauhaus years Kandinsky hadclipped and saved illustrations of microscopic

organisms insects and embryos He alsoowned several important scientific booksand encyclopedias from which he derivedabstracted depictions of minute creaturesFor instance in Dominant Curve ( Courbedominante April 1936) a schematized pink-toned embryo floats in the upper-rightcorner while the forms contained in thegreen rectangle in the upper left resembletiny marine animals

He combined these science-derived forms withprimary geometric shapes energetic lines alively pastel palette and a set of steps leadingnowhere resulting in free-associative meaningsfor the viewer These buoyant biomorphicimages can be read as signs of an optimisticvision of a peaceful future and hope for socialrebirth and regeneration The artist consideredthis painting to be one of his most important

works of this time

Through both his paintings and written theorieson art and abstraction Kandinsky continued toproclaim that abstraction could communicatespiritual ideas Kandinsky died in Paris in 1944at age 78

Dominant Curve ( Courbe dominante ) April 1936 Oil on canvas1294 x 1942 cm Solomon R Guggenheim Museum New York

Solomon R Guggenheim Founding Collection 45989

983100 FINAL YEARS IN PARIS 983089983097983091983091991251983092983092 983102

ldquoParis with its wonderful (intense soft) light had relaxed my palettemdashthere were other colors otherentirely new forms and some that I had used years earlier Naturally I did all this unconsciouslyrdquo 23



EXPLORATIONS Show Dominant Curve April 1936

Dominant Curve combines scientificgeometric abstract and figurative formsAsk the class to find evidence of all four

of these types

Ask students to describe the way thatKandinsky has used color in this workDoes it convey a particular moodfeeling sensation or sense of placeDo your students have any personalassociations with this palette orcombination of colors

After Kandinsky moved to Paris hechanged the colors in his paintings tolighter more pastel hues As a groupcompare the colors used in DominantCurve to earlier works pictured in thisunit Describe how Kandinskyrsquos palettechanged over the decades

Kandinsky titled this work DominantCurve Discuss if this is an appropriatetitle for the work Why or why not

Do students have alternative titles thatthey would suggest


bull Many people have a favorite color but fewer have a favorite

palette Experiment with assembling a palette of five or six colorsthat work harmoniously together The class can mix these colors

from paints or use color samples from a local paint store Dostudents have any associations with the palette they chose Doesthe selection suggest a particular environment or emotion Nowtry this exercise again with them choosing a palette of colors thatthey dislike Discuss which palette was easier to formulate and why

bull Kandinsky collected books on biology zoology embryology and

botany as well as specimens including a fish embryo a salamanderembryo insects marine invertebrates jellyfish and amoebaIn addition to his interest in their structures it is believed thatKandinsky also saw spiritual meaning in these specimens asmanifestations of regeneration and the common origin of all life

Use a biological specimen as the basis for a work of art The motifcan be as simple as a seed pod or leaf In books on the Internetor using a microscope the class can also look at cellular specimensThe Encyclopedia of Life Web site at eolorg provides an excellentresource for this project

bull Kandinskyrsquos long life spanned great social political and

technological changes two world wars and several dislocationsand relocations Although he was largely apolitical the major worldevents listed below had a direct impact on his life Research thefollowing events and their influence on world history

- 1914 World War I begins- 1917 The Bolshevik Revolution occurs - 1933 The Nazis close the Bauhaus - 1940 The Germans begin occupying France

VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES

Barnett V E T Bashkoff C Derouet M Haldemann A HobergG McMillan and V Kowalski Kandinsky Exh Cat New YorkSolomon R Guggenheim Museum 2009

Barnett Vivian Endicott Kandinsky at the Guggenheim New YorkSolomon R Guggenheim Foundation 1983

Dabrowski Magdalena ed Kandinsky Compositions Exh CatNew York Museum of Modern Art 1995

Hahl-Koch Jelena Kandinsky New York Rizzoli 1993 Kandinsky Vasily Kandinsky Complete Writings on Art Edited byKenneth C Lindsay and Peter Vergo 2 vols Boston G K Hall andCo London Faber and Faber 1982 reprint in one vol New YorkDa Capo Press 1994

Kandinsky Wassily Concerning the Spiritual in Art Translated andintroduction by M T H Sadler New York Dover Publications 1977

Sounds Translated and with an introduction by Elizabeth RNapier New Haven Yale University Press 1981

Washton Long Rose-Carol Kandinsky The Development of an Abstract Style Oxford Clarendon Press New York OxfordUniversity Press 1980

Kandinsky in Paris 1934ndash1944 Exh Cat New York Solomon RGuggenheim Foundation 1985

WEB SITES

Solomon R Guggenheim Museum Arts Curriculumguggenheimorgartscurriculum

Centre Pompidou Educational Dossier Vassily KandinskycentrepompidoufreducationressourcesENS-kandinsky-mono-

ENENS-kandinsky-monographie-ENhtml

Tate Learning Schools Online Resources for Wassily Kandinskytateorguklearningschoolswassilykandinsky3917shtm

ENDNOTES

1Vasily Kandinsky quoted in Will Grohmann Wassily KandinskyLife and Work trans Norbert Guterman (New York Harry NAbrams 1958) p 78

2 Vasily Kandinsky ldquoCologne Lecturerdquo (1914) in Vasily Kandinsky

Kandinsky Complete Writings on Art ed Kenneth C Lindsay andPeter Vergo (1982 repr New York Da Capo Press 1994) p 395

3 Adapted from Robert Kaupelis Experimental Drawing

(New York Watson-Guptill Publications London Pitman House1980) p 54

4Jelena Hahl-Koch Kandinsky (New York Rizzoli 1993) p 92

5 Kandinsky quoted in Grohmann Wassily Kandinsky Life and

Work p 78

6 Vasily Kandinsky ldquoReminiscencesrdquo (1913) in Kandinsky Comple

Writings on Art p 370

7 Wassily Kandinsky Sounds trans and with introduction by

Elizabeth R Napier (New Haven Yale University Press 1981)p 25

8 Ibid p 21

9 Kandinsky ldquoReminiscencesrdquo p 391

10 Hahl-Koch Kandinsky p 159


12 Ibid

13 Adapted from the Arnold Schoumlnberg Center Web siteschoenbergat4_exhibitsascKandinskyFarbe_ehtm

14Vasily Kandinsky to Gabriele Muumlnter September 4 1916 quotein Hans K Rothel and Jean K Benjamin Kandinsky CatalogueRaisonneacute of the Oil Paintings Volume Two 1916ndash1944 (Ithaca NCornell University Press 1984) p 580

15 Vasily Kandinsky to Herwarth Walden August 2 1914 quoted ilrike Becks-Malorny Wassily Kandinsky 1866ndash1944 The Journey

Abstraction (Cologne Taschen 1999) p 115

16 Becks-Malorny Wassily Kandinsky 1866ndash1944 p 115

17Vasily Kandinsky to Gabriele Muumlnter June 1916 quotedin ibid p 118

18Ibid p 115

19Kandinsky ldquoReminiscencesrdquo p 360

20

Vasily Kandinsky to Gabriele Muumlnter June 4 1916 quoted inRothel and Benjamin Kandinsky Catalogue Raisonneacute of the OilPaintings Volume Two p 580

21Vasily Kandinsky to Will Grohmann October 12 1930 quoted Angelica Zander Rudenstine The Guggenheim MuseumPaintings 1880ndash1945 vol 1 (New York Solomon R GuggenheimFoundation 1976) p 310

22Vasily Kandinsky to Will Grohmann 1930 quoted in Becks-Malorny Wassily Kandinsky 1866ndash1944 p 157

23Vasily Kandinsky to Alfred Barr Jr July 16 1944 quoted in VivEndicott Barnett et al Kandinsky exh cat (New York SolomoR Guggenheim Museum 2009) p 70

All works by Vasily Kandinsky copy 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARSNew YorkADAGP Paris



V O C

A B U L A R Y AVANT983085GARDE A way to describe artists who operate outside of

the mainstream and strive to push the boundaries of acceptableart The term was originally used by the military to talk about thesoldiers at the front of a battle formation

BAUHAUS A highly influential state-sponsored school of artarchitecture and design founded in Weimar Germany in 1919Its aims included raising the quality of everyday life through anaesthetic of modern and universal design It operated until 1933when in response to conditions imposed by the Nazis the facultyclosed the school

BLAUE REITER DER 983080BLUE RIDER THE983081 An early modern artisticmovement (1911ndash14) founded by Vasily Kandinsky (Russian1866ndash1944) and Franz Marc (German 1880ndash1916) It ischaracterized by a move toward abstraction vivid expressivecolors used to communicate symbolic meaning a belief in thespiritual dimension of art and a connection between visual art

and music

CONSTRUCTIVISM An early-20th-century Russian art movementthat used utilitarian rational and often technologically basedshapes and new materials Its name derives from the ldquoconstructionrdquoof abstract sculptures from industrial materials

CUBISM A style of painting developed between 1907 and 1914as a collaboration between Georges Braque (French 1882ndash1963)and Pablo Picasso (Spanish 1881ndash1973) in which objects arerepresented as deconstructed cubes and other geometric shapes

DEGENERATE ART A term used by Nazi officials to describe artdeemed unfit for society usually applied to avant-garde styles It isalso the name of an exhibition organized by the Nazis in 1937 ofworks that they had purged from German museums The showtraveled throughout Germany and Austria attracting more thantwo million visitors and featured many artists who are nowconsidered masters of 20th-century art including Marc Chagall(Russian 1887ndash1985) Max Ernst (German 1879ndash1976) Kandinskyand Paul Klee (Swiss 1879ndash1940) among others

FAUVISM A painting style characterized by the often jarring useof color and broad brushstrokes The Fauves (French for ldquowildbeastsrdquo) were bestowed the name by a French art critic after a1905 exhibition

IMPRESSIONISM A late-19th-century style that dealt with theeffects of light and color to capture the immediacy or ldquoimpressionrdquoof a moment

NONOBJECTIVE ART Art that uses abstract forms shapes andcolors that are invented rather than observed with no ties to thematerial world This style aspires to spiritual and utopian goals

POST983085IMPRESSIONISM A movement that embraced the idea of artas a process of formal design with purely expressive aims andincluded Paul Ceacutezanne (French 1839ndash1906) Paul Gauguin(French 1848ndash1903) Georges Seurat (French 1859ndash1891) andVincent van Gogh (Dutch 1853ndash1890)

SURREALISM A 20th-century movement in art and literature thatsought to express the subconscious mind by depicting objects andevents as seen in dreams

SYNESTHESIA A condition in which one type of stimulation evokesthe sensation of another as when the hearing of a sound producesthe visualization of a color































4 In order to


bull


VIEW + DISCUSS
































7




Wider Wider8


VIEW + DISCUSS






























VIEW + DISCUSS

Troika

COLOR EMOTION SOUND

Yellow

Blue

Green

White

Black

Gray

Red

Brown

Orange

Violet














983100 MOSCOW 983089983097983089983092991251983090983089 gt




















VIEW + DISCUSS













983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102





























VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music







































7




Wider Wider8


VIEW + DISCUSS






























VIEW + DISCUSS

Troika

COLOR EMOTION SOUND

Yellow

Blue

Green

White

Black

Gray

Red

Brown

Orange

Violet














983100 MOSCOW 983089983097983089983092991251983090983089 gt




















VIEW + DISCUSS













983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102





























VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music







































VIEW + DISCUSS

Troika

COLOR EMOTION SOUND

Yellow

Blue

Green

White

Black

Gray

Red

Brown

Orange

Violet














983100 MOSCOW 983089983097983089983092991251983090983089 gt




















VIEW + DISCUSS













983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102





























VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music























983100 MOSCOW 983089983097983089983092991251983090983089 gt




















VIEW + DISCUSS













983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102





























VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music



























VIEW + DISCUSS













983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102





























VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music






















983100 THE BAUHAUS 983089983097983090983090991251983091983091 983102





























VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music



































VIEW + DISCUSS









works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music


















works of this time










of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music














of these types















VIEW + DISCUSS



RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music












RESOURCES









WEB SITES





ENDNOTES








Work p 78





8 Ibid p 21




12 Ibid







18Ibid p 115


20








V O C





and music












V O C





and music










guggenheim kandinsky

Documents