Looking at the quote addressed to this specific painting
the artist seems to want to transmit joy and sound. He described it as a key
board on which the artist can sing. The painting seems to have a joyful
atmosphere caused by the strong contrasts between complementary colours (bright
yellows and reds creating beautiful bright oranges).Is about colour and
composition about the great impact which a well thought composition like this
has on the viewer.
TECHNIQUE
The artwork is done on canvas with oil paint applied with
the help of a palette knife and brush . The paint is not applied with care (he
didn’t wanted his circles to be perfectly symmetrical as much as he wanted the
colour choice to be perfect; thick consistent paint). When we talk about
perspective in this painting is more about the individual viewing the
composition. There might be people who would see the perspective through colour
and brush mark but there will be individuals who will see just colour.
In this painting Kandinsky associated colour with sound
and music .As I previously said the colours has been very well chosen to create
an impact. It has got bright contrasts and surely a balance of the composition
and colour eg; yellow next to purple and reds; blue and bright yellows with
touches of red, yellow, red orange, blue-marine etc. The composition consists
of 12 irregular squares with rows of different coloured irregular circles.
ARTIST’S CAREER
Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter, a printmaker and
an art theorist. He is one of the most famous 20 th century painters. Wassily
was born in Moscow and spend his childhood in Odessa. Later he enrolled at the
University of Moscow to study Law and Economics .He was quite successful in
what he chose to do but later on at the age of 30 he started painting studies
(life drawing sketches and anatomy). In 1896 he settled in Munich to study in a
private school and after the Academy to France where he lived the rest of his
life and became a French citizen in 1939.He died in 1944.
LINKS WITH OWN WORK
I appreciate his passion for learning, his hunger of
finding and learning as much information as possible. The paintings of this
period contain a very expressive coloured mass evaluating independently from
forms and lines (abstract art).What I like about Kandinsky’s work is the large
range of bright, happy, vibrating colours. I like that it makes you think and
try to find what is actually the meaning of each shape ,the meaning of the
painting itself (what is the message?).He has a very unique way of playing with
shapes, lines and colours. I like the way the shapes are juxtaposition giving
birth to new colours and shapes. I am sure there is a logic way of arranging
the composition in every painting of Kandinsky but the beauty about it is that
we will never be able to find the truth hiding behind each shape, each
painting. The simple fact that each painting represents a feeling or a thought
makes everything more interesting to observe. I have chosen this painting to be
part of my research and influence in this unit called ‘Colours in high-key’
because it ticks all the boxes for me when we talk about the impact of colour
and contrasts in our lives.
QUOTATIONS
‘I applied steaks and blobs of colours onto the canvas
with a palette knife and I made them sing with all the intensity I could’
‘Colour is the key board, the eyes are the harmonies, the
soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays,
touching one key or another, to cause vibration in the soul.
‘There is no must in art because art is free. ‘ Wiki
.answers.com
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/111aR-xRHFpnKOYbOrYCsFFIy9EMeZefPW_WIjcqic5Y/edit