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Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., June 11-Sept. 4, 2011 and at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, N.Y, Oct. 21, 2011-Jan. 15, 2012.
Pioneering work by the great modernist painter, considered by many to be the father of abstract art and a leader in the movement to free art from traditional bonds. 12 illustrations.
Vasilii Kandinsky, whom many consider to be the father of abstract painting, was also a trained ethnographer with an abiding interest in the folklore of Old Russia. In this provocative book, Peg Weiss provides an entirely new interpretation of Kandinsky's art by examining for the first time how this commitment to his ethnic Russian heritage influenced the painter's work throughout his career.
Kandinsky in this book defines the three types of painting; impressions, improvisations and compositions. While impressions are based on an external reality that serves as a starting point, improvisations and compositions depict images emergent from the unconscious, though composition is developed from a more formal point of view. Kandinsky compares the spiritual life of humanity to a pyramid—the artist has a mission to lead others to the pinnacle with his work. The point of the pyramid is those few, great artists. It is a spiritual pyramid, advancing and ascending slowly even if it sometimes appears immobile. During decadent periods, the soul sinks to the bottom of the pyramid; humanity searches only for external success, ignoring spiritual forces.
The founder of abstract art The Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), who later lived in Germany and France, is one of the pioneers of twentieth-century art. Nowadays he is regarded as the founder of abstract art and is, moreover, the chief theoretician of this type of painting. Together with Franz Marc and others he founded the group of artists known as the "Blauer Reiter" in Munich. His art then freed itself more and more from the object, eventually culminating in the "First Abstract Watercolour" of 1910. In his theoretical writings Kandinsky repeatedly sought the proximity of music; and just as in music, where the individual notes constitute the medium whose effect stems from harmony and euphony, Kandinsky was aiming for a pure concord of colour through the interplay of various shades. Gauguin had demanded that everything "must be sacrificed to pure colours". Kandinsky was the first to realise this and thus to influence a whole range of artists. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
This book examines the art and writings of Wassily Kandinsky, who is widely regarded as one of the first artists to produce non-representational paintings. Crucial to an understanding of Kandinsky's intentions is On the Spiritual in Art, the celebrated essay he published in 1911. Where most scholars have taken its repeated references to "spirit" as signaling quasi-religious or mystical concerns, Florman argues instead that Kandinsky's primary frame of reference was G.W.F. Hegel's Aesthetics, in which art had similarly been presented as a vehicle for the developing self-consciousness of spirit (or Geist, in German). In addition to close readings of Kandinsky's writings, the book also includes a discussion of a 1936 essay on the artist's paintings written by his own nephew, philosopher Alexandre Kojève, the foremost Hegel scholar in France at that time. It also provides detailed analyses of individual paintings by Kandinsky, demonstrating how the development of his oeuvre challenges Hegel's views on modern art, yet operates in much the same manner as does Hegel's philosophical system. Through the work of a single, crucial artist, Florman presents a radical new account of why painting turned to abstraction in the early years of the twentieth century.
Wassily Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist, now celebrated as one of the pioneers of pure abstraction in modern painting. Delphi’s Masters of Art Series presents the world’s first digital e-Art books, allowing digital readers to explore the works of the world’s greatest artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents Kandinsky’s pre-1923 works in beautiful detail, with concise introductions, hundreds of high quality images and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * A comprehensive range of Kandinsky’s works — over 200 paintings, fully indexed and arranged in chronological and alphabetical order * Includes reproductions of rare works * Features a special ‘Highlights’ section, with concise introductions to the masterpieces, giving valuable contextual information * Enlarged ‘Detail’ images, allowing you to explore Kandinsky’s celebrated works in detail, as featured in traditional art books * Hundreds of images in stunning colour – highly recommended for viewing on tablets and smart phones or as a valuable reference tool on more conventional eReaders * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the paintings * Easily locate the paintings you want to view * Includes Kandinsky's celebrated treatise CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL IN ART * Scholarly ordering of plates into chronological order Please note: to comply with US copyright law, this US edition of the eBook does not include Kandinsky’s painting produced after 1922. When new works enter the public domain, they will be added to the eBook as a free update. Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting e-Art books CONTENTS: The Highlights ODESSA PORT PORTRAIT OF GABRIELE MÜNTER THE BLUE RIDER COUPLE RIDING CEMETERY AND VICARAGE IN KOCHEL MURNAU-VIEW WITH RAILWAY AND CASTLE PICTURE WITH ARCHER LYRICAL IMPROVISATION 26 SMALL PLEASURES BLACK STROKES I MOSCOW I RED OVAL STOREYS COMPOSITION VII The Paintings CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PAINTINGS ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PAINTINGS The Treatise CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL IN ART Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles
