Kandinsky: The Elements of Art

by Philippe Sers

An authoritative chronology of the iconic work of one of the great figures of twentieth-century modernism, Wassily Kandinsky The richness of Wassily Kandinsky’s life, work, and intellect make him one of the leading figures of twentieth-century art. He was a founding member of the artistic group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), and his theories influenced many of the major artistic movements of his time, including Dada, the Bauhaus, De Stijl, and Russian Constructivism. A man of diverse interests, he was a friend to artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Paul Klee and had fruitful relationships with contemporary musicians including Arnold Schoenberg and Thomas de Hartmann.

This book traces the chronological evolution of Kandinsky’s art, making use of an unprecedented wealth of documents from the artist’s own workshop―including autobiographical writings, correspondence, and theoretical essays―to shed new light on his prolific creative imagination. Kandinsky divided his work into three impressions (observations of the exterior world), improvisations (expressions of inner feeling), and compositions (images on a grander scale that brought inner and outer visions together).

Generously illustrated throughout, this book uncovers the well of symbolic imagery that lies behind Kandinsky’s paintings, prints, and poetry and explores his passionate belief in the spiritual and harmonizing power of art. 250+ illustrations

Genres: Art

340 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2016

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

--Kandinsky: The Elements of Art

Index
Bibliography
Picture Credits

[Irena Tippett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kandinsky: The Elements of Art is loaded with stunning plates of many of Kandinsky's paintings together with insightful and well-documented analyses of these paintings. With some sense of triumph, I also see in this book a vindication of my early understanding of Kandinsky from many years ago. At that time, the spiritual characteristics of Kandinsky's art were generally attributed to the popularization of Theosophy in the early 20th century. This theory I have always found unconvincing. Here, Philippe Sers has demonstrated Kandinsky's single-mindedly spiritual focus to be rooted in his personal journey of Christian hope, begun as a young boy in Moscow as he beheld a most glorious sunrise over the Kremlin.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful account of Kandinsky’s life and works, the full page prints of his paintings help capture the raw emotions that went into his abstract pieces. A vital read when researching Kandinsky or the Weimar Bauhaus.