We end the course with two artists who produced totally non-representational paintings, what is often simply labeled “abstract.” Hanging alone on a gallery wall, works by Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian make no literal sense. However, when positioned in the history of modern painting we’ve learned, they can be understood as logical conclusions to questions and innovations that arose with Impressionism. And yet, because each artist felt obligated to provide theoretical tracts justifying their choice of non-representationalism – thereby showing a need to add words to what should be a visual experience – their paintings may also represent the outer limits of modernist experimentation.
Images from Lecture – Kandinsky (pdf)
Images from Lecture – Mondrian (pdf)
Wassily Kandinsky – The Art Story (link)
Rebay Hilla, Kandinsky, Guggenheim Museum, 1945 (link)
If you are interested in reading what Kandinsky had to say about some of his paintings, then take a look at this catalog published to accompany a 1945 exhibit of the artist’s work.
Wassily Kandinsky, The Art of Spiritual Harmony, English translation of 1914 (link)
Foundation text by Kandinsky. Not an easy read, but not too difficult either. Good insight into his thinking and explanation for his abstraction.
Piet Mondrian – The ArtStory (link)
Piet Mondrian, “Dialog on the New Plastic,” 1919 (pdf)
Mondrian wrote quite a bit, theorizing and explaining his work. In this text, the artist introduces his ideas by way of a conversation between himself and a musician. As you read, it might be helpful to keep a painting by Mondrian, one painted after 1920.