- 182
Wassily Kandinsky
bidding is closed
Description
- Wassily Kandinsky
- OHNE TITEL (UNTITLED)
- signed with the monogram and dated 18 (lower left)
- watercolour and brush and ink on paper
- 31.5 by 24.8cm., 12 3/8 by 9 3/4 in.
Provenance
Nina Kandinsky, Paris (until 1972)
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in 1972)
Galerie Flinker, Paris (1972)
Alex Reid & Lefevre, London (1973)
Jorge & Marion Helft, Buenos Aires (by 1992)
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in 1972)
Galerie Flinker, Paris (1972)
Alex Reid & Lefevre, London (1973)
Jorge & Marion Helft, Buenos Aires (by 1992)
Exhibited
New York, Museum of Modern Art (and travelling in the USA)., Kandinsky Watercolors, 1969-70, no. 12, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Kandinsky: Aquarelle und Zeichnungen, 1972, no. 11, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
London, Alex Reid & Lefevre, Oil Paintings and Watercolours by Wassily Kandinsky, 1973, no. 11, illustrated in colour in the catalogue,
London, Alex Reid & Lefevre, Important XIX and XX Century Works on Paper, 1977, no. 27, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Kandinsky: Aquarelle und Zeichnungen, 1972, no. 11, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
London, Alex Reid & Lefevre, Oil Paintings and Watercolours by Wassily Kandinsky, 1973, no. 11, illustrated in colour in the catalogue,
London, Alex Reid & Lefevre, Important XIX and XX Century Works on Paper, 1977, no. 27, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Literature
Vivian Endicott Barnett, Kandinsky Watercolours Catalogue Raisonné, London, 1992, vol. I, no. 499, illustrated p. 439
Catalogue Note
Executed in 1918, this watercolour, bursting with energy, is examplary of Kandinsky's Moscow period shortly before he returned to Germany to join the Bauhaus in June 1922.
Between October 1917 and January 1919, the artist used the watercolour medium exclusively. This allowed him to explore the free use of organic abstract forms. The vibrancy of shapes and light colours express the artist's sensual understanding of art - his spiritual in art.
The present work seems to encapsulate what Kandinsky described to Gabriele Münter in those years: 'You know that I dreamt of painting a big picture expressing joy, the happiness of life and the universe. Suddenly I feel the harmony of colours and forms that come from this world of joy' (U. Becks-Malorny, Wassily Kandinsky, The Journey to Abstraction, Cologne, 2002, p. 118).
Between October 1917 and January 1919, the artist used the watercolour medium exclusively. This allowed him to explore the free use of organic abstract forms. The vibrancy of shapes and light colours express the artist's sensual understanding of art - his spiritual in art.
The present work seems to encapsulate what Kandinsky described to Gabriele Münter in those years: 'You know that I dreamt of painting a big picture expressing joy, the happiness of life and the universe. Suddenly I feel the harmony of colours and forms that come from this world of joy' (U. Becks-Malorny, Wassily Kandinsky, The Journey to Abstraction, Cologne, 2002, p. 118).