Wassily Kandinsky
Leichter Block (Light Block), 1932
Signed with the artist's monogram 'K' and dated '32' (lower left)
Watercolor, gouache, pen, and India ink and colored inks on paper
47 by 28.8 cm (18½ by 11⅜ in.)
68725
Executed in July 1932. A pioneer of abstraction in Western art, Kandinsky firmly believed in a non-objective art form that transcended the traditional meaning of art. His experimentations with formal...
Executed in July 1932. A pioneer of abstraction in Western art, Kandinsky firmly believed in a non-objective art form that transcended the traditional meaning of art. His experimentations with formal autonomy and color theory are made visible in his vibrant and geometric compositions that favor the symbolic and rely on intuition to communicate meaning. Characteristic of the Bauhaus school of art which he taught at from 1922 to 1933, Kandinsky's use of geometric shapes, various lines, and intersecting angles exposes the underlying structures and essential elements of architecture and technological design. These elements are repeated and emphasized to establish rhythm and harmony and to express meaning through pictorial relationships and symbiotic connections.
Leichter Block (Light Block) was created during Kandinsky's remaining years at the Bauhaus. Also known as Light Cubes, the present work illustrates how the artist assigned characteristics to simple geometric shapes. The "lightness" of the cubes, for example, is visualized through the translucency of the watercolor paint. Kandinsky's stylistic techniques during the mid-1930s had evolved and can be seen through his placement of geometric shapes, reliance on surrealist forms, and use of mixed media techniques.
This watercolor was first acquired by Galka Scheyer, a prominent art collector who during the war years formed "Die Blaue Vier" or "the Blue Four” – consisting of Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, and Alexej Von Jawlensky – through which she specifically promoted the artists’ work. In 1924, she eventually settled in California, and quickly became known for presenting the work of the “Blue Four” artists to American collectors. By the time of her death in 1946, Scheyer had acquired one of the best collections of Modern art in the West. The present work was given to Rose Fried who owned and operated the Rose Fried Gallery in New York’s upper east side (taking over the Pinacotheca Gallery owned by Dan Harris). Like Scheyer, Fried was instrumental in introducing the American public to abstract painters from Europe, including Mondrian and Kandinsky. In 1949, she sold the painting to Detroit-based Lydia Winston Malbin, an avid collector of European art. Malbin’s passion for collecting modern art resulted in the distinguished Winston/Malbin Collection, which specifically focused on the work of the Futurists and their successors.
Leichter Block (Light Block) was created during Kandinsky's remaining years at the Bauhaus. Also known as Light Cubes, the present work illustrates how the artist assigned characteristics to simple geometric shapes. The "lightness" of the cubes, for example, is visualized through the translucency of the watercolor paint. Kandinsky's stylistic techniques during the mid-1930s had evolved and can be seen through his placement of geometric shapes, reliance on surrealist forms, and use of mixed media techniques.
This watercolor was first acquired by Galka Scheyer, a prominent art collector who during the war years formed "Die Blaue Vier" or "the Blue Four” – consisting of Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, and Alexej Von Jawlensky – through which she specifically promoted the artists’ work. In 1924, she eventually settled in California, and quickly became known for presenting the work of the “Blue Four” artists to American collectors. By the time of her death in 1946, Scheyer had acquired one of the best collections of Modern art in the West. The present work was given to Rose Fried who owned and operated the Rose Fried Gallery in New York’s upper east side (taking over the Pinacotheca Gallery owned by Dan Harris). Like Scheyer, Fried was instrumental in introducing the American public to abstract painters from Europe, including Mondrian and Kandinsky. In 1949, she sold the painting to Detroit-based Lydia Winston Malbin, an avid collector of European art. Malbin’s passion for collecting modern art resulted in the distinguished Winston/Malbin Collection, which specifically focused on the work of the Futurists and their successors.