Wassily Kandinsky

Nina Kandinsky, Paris (acquired from the artist)

Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in June 1974)

Urban Gallery, Nagoya (acquired from the above in 1987)

Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva

Private Collection

Paris, Galerie Maeght, Kandinsky: Bauhaus de Dessau, 1927-1933, 1965, no. 44

Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Kandinsky, 1965, no. 50

Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Fondation Maeght, Centenary Exhibition, 1966, no. 74

New York, Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, Kandinsky, The Bauhaus Years, 1966, no. 44

Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Kandinsky, 1970, no. 116

Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Kandinsky, 1975, no. 22

Tokyo, The Seibu Museum of Art, Kandinsky, 1976, no. 27

New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Zürich, Kunsthaus, Kandinsky: Russian and Bauhaus Years: 1915-1933, 1983-84

Artist's handlist, vol. IV, no. 557

William Grohmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Life and Work, New York, 1958, no. 557, catalogued p. 339; no. 401, illustrated p. 382

Hans K. Roethel and Jean K. Benjamin, Kandinsky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, vol. 2, Ithaca, 1984, no. 1004, illustrated p. 907

Kandinsky believed that the color green was a soothing color, evoking a "restful" state of being and demanding no emotional response from the viewer. For the artist, green provided a neutral and therefore appealing compromise between the sentimentality of the color blue and the earthiness of yellow. In Grün, Kandinsky explored the color green in its many variations, and manipulated the color with blue and yellow to convey the illusion of space. The darker planes in the bottom and to the left of the canvas appear to recede, while the lighter, yellower triangle in the middle of the composition exudes warmth and seems to advance toward the viewer. At the same time, the synthesis of organic and geometric forms in the present work reflects the tenets Kandinsky put forth in his book Point and Line to Plane, published at the Bauhaus school in 1926. The scumbled leaf-shaped form in the upper left quadrant of the picture plane reflects Kandinsky's principles of texture, which he believed should be incorporated into even the most minute compositional elements. Meanwhile, the clearly outlined arrow, pictograph and small rectangle in the remainder of the space reflect his concern for the development of pictorial planes and linear form.

Executed in 1931, Kandinsky composed the present work in his last years at Dessau, where he taught at Walter Gropius's Bauhaus school between 1925 and 1933. The Bauhaus had relocated from Weimar in 1925, and Kandinsky found the living and working conditions extremely favorable. New buildings were constructed for workshops and faculty residences, and Kandinsky found himself sharing a duplex house with Paul Klee which overlooked the park. Kandinsky's years at Dessau were some of his most productive, during which time he completed several series, such as his "black-and-white" paintings and his symbolic "circle" paintings, as well as many other significant works. As explained by Will Grohmann, "During the last years in Dessau, from 1929 to 1932, Kandinsky constantly gained in assurance and lightness of touch. A joy of living is perceptibly felt in his work. In certain paintings there is even a kind of philosophical humor...[T]here are dozens of paintings of these years that cannot be grouped, because each expresses a distinct conception. Kandinsky was extremely fertile, exploring in every direction...He painted pictures in which a single color determines the character of the work, and nebulous pictures in which we look in vain for a dominant color. The works of the Dessau years are characterized by incomparable richness..." (Will Grohmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Life and Work, New York, 1958, pp. 210 and 217).