Wassily Kandinsky

Nina Kandinsky, Paris
Goldberg Collection, Paris & Gstaad
Galerie Berggruen, Paris (acquired by 1970)
Lefevre Gallery, London (acquired in 1972)
Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva (and sold: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London, April 5, 1978, no. 148)
J. Hobbs, United Kingdom
Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London
Acquired from the above

Paris, Galerie Berggruen, Kandinsky Aquarelles et Dessins, 1972, no. 46, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Lefevre Gallery, Kandinsky, 1973, no. 32, illustrated in the catalogue

Vivian Endicott Barnett, Kandinsky Watercolours, Catalogue Raisonné 1922-1944, vol. II, London, 1994, no. 1272, illustrated p. 468

This work is in excellent condition. Executed on brown paper laid down on card. Colors are fresh and vibrant and sheet is beautifully preserved. The mount is affixed to a window mat along the perimeter of its verso. Remnants of tape from a previous mounting are visible at the extreme top and bottom edges of the mount.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Executed in 1940, Ohne Titel is an elegant gouache from Kandinsky's mature Parisian period. Kandinsky and his wife Nina left an increasingly hostile Germany in the 1930s and moved to Paris, where they found the vanguard environment still vibrant and thriving, largely dominated by the Surrealists and the Abstraction-Créationists. The work Kandinsky produced after arriving in Paris demonstrates his personal response to the prevailing artistic climate. He introduced biomorphic forms into his pictorial vocabulary, reflecting his interest in the expressive possibilities of the sinuous, curving lines of Surrealism. He developed a new and highly individual approach to abstraction by combining these organic shapes with the geometric forms favored by the Abstraction-Création group.

In addition to his engagement with the stylistic elements of Surrealism, Kandinsky’s incorporation of biomorphic forms in his artwork reflects the artist’s deepening interest in the natural sciences. Like his contemporaries Klee and Arp, Kandinsky had become interested in zoology and organic growth, and his Parisian works explored the mysteries of nature’s fundamental elements. Kandinsky found inspiration in images of amoebas and embryos and would clip photographs and diagrams from scientific articles on deep-sea life to keep in his library. Vivian Endicott Barnett suggested that “Kandinsky's images of amoebas, embryos and marine invertebrates convey spiritual meaning of beginning, regeneration and a common origin of all life. Because of his spiritual beliefs and his ideas on abstract art, Kandinsky would have responded to the meanings or rebirth and renewal inherent in the new imagery of his Paris pictures” (V.E. Barnett in Kandinsky in Paris (exhibition catalogue), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1985, p. 87).

From around 1935 to the early 1940s, Kandinsky often executed compositions with gouache on dark paper supports. As compared to the translucence of his watercolors, the opacity of gouache subdues the dark backgrounds while its chalky quality provides a sense of surface texture. In Ohne Titel, Kandinksy’s use of gouache makes a bold impact against the brown background while still allowing for the depth and delicacy of his brushwork to show through. The work’s light, pastel tonality and graphic approach perfectly illustrate the renewed lyricism that is characteristic of Kandinsky’s late Parisian style.