1929, Vasily Kandinsky, Upward -- Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice)
This was painted at the height of Kandinsky's time at the Bauhaus, in Dessau. It is the exquisite product of a profound meditation on the expressive power of points, lines and planes. Tension (a key concept for Kandinsky) is induced by the upward elision of the orange segment along the diameter of the pink and white semi-circle, and by the balance of the semicircle on the point-an equilibrium certain to be lost without the horizontal black bar to the left, or the 'weight' of the red patches. The subtlety, depth and beauty of these areas ring with Kandinsky's spiritual, optical music.
1929, Vasily Kandinsky, Upward -- Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice)
This was painted at the height of Kandinsky's time at the Bauhaus, in Dessau. It is the exquisite product of a profound meditation on the expressive power of points, lines and planes. Tension (a key concept for Kandinsky) is induced by the upward elision of the orange segment along the diameter of the pink and white semi-circle, and by the balance of the semicircle on the point-an equilibrium certain to be lost without the horizontal black bar to the left, or the 'weight' of the red patches. The subtlety, depth and beauty of these areas ring with Kandinsky's spiritual, optical music.