Today I am starting the 2022 Art Talk theme on Artists.
Art Talk is going into is 5 years... Amazing!
2018 A collection of all different themes in art
2019 Travel
2020 Tours of the National Gallery of Art in DC
2021 Architecture
2022 Artists
Through the past four years I have highlighted 11 different artists and recently @rosiew asked me why Sargent and Whistler were some of my favorite 19th century artists. I did a post on each of them and then I thought of other artists I would like to highlight as well.
Here is a collection of posts about artists: Artists Highlighted
We are going to start the 2022 theme of Artists with Vasily (or Wassily) Kandinsky.
Vasily Kandinsky
Composition 8, 1923
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
My Introduction to Kandinsky
I was introduced to Wassily Kandinsky in October 2021 when I visited the Guggenheim Museum in New York City for the first time. I am not a big fan of modern art and so I knew very little, if anything, about Kandinsky before going to the Guggenheim.
Solomon Guggenheim was a great art collector in the late 1800s and early 1900s in America. He traveled to Germany in the 1930s and met Kandinsky at the Bauhaus where he was teaching at the time. Solomon bought Composition 8 (above). He then continued to purchase from Kandinsky for the next 20 years amassing a collection of over 150 works by Kandinsky.
The exhibition at the Guggenheim is called Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle and runs October 8, 2021- September 5, 2022.
I enjoyed seeing Kandinsky. I was quite amazed at his technical skill and use of lines, shapes, and colors.
Guggenheim Museum
Here are a couple of picture of the Guggenheim and you can see how fitting the theme around the circle is for the exhibition.
I also did a post about The Guggenheim.
Let me take you on a walk around the circle of the Guggenheim and introduce you to Kandinsky.
This will be a short introduction to Kandinsky and his art. In addition to the sources below I also got a lot of information from the plaques in the Guggenheim next to the art.
Kandinsky
Kandinsky is credited with being one of the pioneers in abstract art. He was born in Russia in 1886 into a wealthy family. He went to school in Russia and became a economic and law professor. He gave up this promising and lucrative career at the age of 30 and moved to Munich, Germany and enrolled in art school. He returned to Russia in 1914 at the start of World War I. He returned to Germany in 1920 and taught at Bauhaus until 1933 when the Nazi closed it. He then moved to France where he lived out the rest of his life, dying in 1944 at the age of 58.
Early 1900s
Kandinsky, like Impressionist artists, was painting en plein air (or outside). Here are we have a few of his early work in Munich in the early 1900s.
Vasily Kandinsky
Amsterdam-View from the Window, 1904
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Vasily Kandinsky
Fishing Boats, Sestri, 1905
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Vasily Kandinsky
Landscape with Rolling Hills, 1910
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Vasily Kandinsky
Blue Mountain, 1908-1909
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Throughout all these early painting we can see Kandinsky's strong use of color. Here we see one of his common themes, which is a man riding a horse. He even co-founded the Blue Rider group with other like-minded artists such as August Macke, Franz Marc, Albert Bloch, and Gabriele Münter.
Kandinsky taught at an art school in Munich that he cofounded and in 1902 he asked one of his students (Gabrielle Munter) to travel with him. He traveled extensively with Gabriele. She was his companion until 1914.
Move to Abstraction
This is where his art really started to be more abstract.
Vasily Kandinsky
Small Pleasures, 1913
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Vasily Kandinsky
Painting with white border, 1913
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Use of shapes
Now we are moving into a time where Kandinsky really used a lot of shapes and colors and even named the paintings after those shapes and colors.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Red Oval | Blue Circle | Three Sounds |
This is a very impressive painting! It is part of Kandinsky's Composition series that he did between 1910 and 1939 that investigated colors and forms and their psychological and spiritual effects. He also authored a book about the spiritual aspects of art called Über das Geistige in der Kunst.
It is also during the 1920s that Kandinsky returns to Germany and is teaching at Bauhaus and Solomon Guggenheim meets him and purchase his paintings. He also has his first solo show in 1923.
Vasily Kandinsky
Composition 8, 1923
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Biomorphic
Biomorphic refers to abstract forms or images that evoke naturally occurring forms such as plants, organisms and body parts.
During the 1930s and 1940s he was painting biomorphic paintings. These were some of my favorites!
Vasily Kandinsky
Various Acions, 1941
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Vasily Kandinsky
Dominate Curve, 1936
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Vasily Kandinsky
Around the Circle, 1940
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
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It would also be interested to dive into how music was connected to Kandisky and his work.
Hope you have enjoyed this look at Kandinsky, through this paintings in the Guggenheim, as much as I enjoyed researching and putting this post together.
Sources:
Guggenheim-Vasily Kandinsky
Guggenheim- Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle
YouTube- 10 Amazing Facts about Wassily Kandinsky
YouTube- Wassily Kandinsky: 6 Minute Art History Video
Wikepedia- Wassily Kandinsky
Guggenheim- Solomon R Guggenheim
MoMA- Biomorphic
Art Talk Series Highlights
Artists Highlighted Collection
Art Talk: 2021 Posts
Art Talk: 2020 Posts
Art Talk: 2019 Posts
Art Talk: 2018 Posts
Hi Jarvie, do You talk about other artists from Eastern Europe? Kandinsky is easily accessible in the US but there were other avant-garde artists which were less lucky, Ciurlionis among them, who apparently invented abstract art before Kondinsky :)
Hi @Helcim. I do not know much about modern or abstract art as mentioned in the post. I am talking about Kandinsky because I was able to see a show of his at the Guggenheim. If I ever get the chance to see Ciurlionis's work I will be very happy to do a post on him. I only do posts with pictures I have taken myself. It is limiting in some ways and I think more authentic in others.
I recall the feeling I had when standing in front of his paintings in Guggenheim as I see them now in your post! Geometry and colors were enough to fall in love, haha!
I admire the way he set himself (and art) free from the restrictions of lines and colors.
Wonderful post Sara!!!
Thanks so much. He really was quite amazing to have so much talent and desire to explore and challenge the system.
Thank for the article shared with community and I love the history of art In the Guggenheim museum...
I am so glad you found this Art Talk community. You are welcome to post about art your like as well.
So interesting, I have to say, when I first read your name kadinsky, it seemed very familiar to me. now that i have seen the pictures, i realize that we studied his works in art class at school back then. Really interesting artist!
Thanks for your comment. He is a very interesting artist. I have a great time research and learning about him for this post.
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thanks!
Hi Sara! I LOVE your post so very much. I'm also not a huge fan of modern art, but I will say that when you contrast his colors, shapes and movement against the stark white of it all... it does speak to me. Your post also helps people to visualize it so well. You do a marvelous job, Sara. I wanted to say I think the dates might be a bit off on his birth/death. I hope you don't mind me mentioning it.
What's your feeling on Salvador Dali? He literally changed the direction of my life when I went to visit his museum in Spain. It's a long story I'll share when my hand is up for it. (I hurt my hand and typing is a bit rough at times but nothing bad... it will be better soon I'm sure!) Have a great day, Sara! Keep up the wonderful posts!
Thanks for pointing out his death date, 1944 is much different than 1994! So glad you enjoyed the post.
I find Dali very interesting. I have only seen one in the Vatican Museum and I didn't have a lot of time to stop and contemplate it. One of my favorite YouTube channels is Great Art Explained. The guy did a episode on The Persistence of Memory by Dali, very interesting.
Hope your hand heals soon.
Thank you, Sara! I'll definitely check out the video later! And happy to help on the dates. :) Have a good day and thanks for the well wishes! I appreciate it a lot. :)
That's interesting. I really like abstract art and mostly prefer it over other forms. From what you showcased here I personally like his later works than the earlier impressionist stuff. Its neat seeing how he evolved as an artist.
I agree, the evolution was very distinct and cool to watch.
Is it just me or was art back then much more than today? I think we got in the wrong direction. Some people are claiming that art is everything you can imagine but me on the other hand... I think sure art can be almost everything humans produce but there should be fair valuation. Money laundry through art spoiled everything and good works are neglected while some random shapes are "getting" millions. I am always looking for something more, the message, meaning, and most important aesthetics. Thank you for sharing this!
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