Moscow, 1921. Kandinsky stands before his canvas in revolutionary Russia. He dialogues with Constructivism but refuses to submit to it entirely. Pure form calls to him, the circle fascinates him.
An Emancipated Geometric Composition
Observe this large monumental canvas. Kandinsky arranges geometric forms: triangles, circles, arcs. The famous red spot dominates the composition, an organic form with blurred contours. Black circles, one of them punctuated with expressive splatters, create visual tensions. The application of oil paint remains fluid. The contours dissolve slightly. The arrangement seems free, almost musical. No strictly Constructivist structure here. The elements accumulate without rigid logic.
The Postwar Turning Point
World War I brutally interrupts Kandinsky’s career. In Germany, then back in Russia, he devotes himself to cultural committees. “Red Spot II” marks his return to painting. The artist discovers Malevich, Tatlin, Popova. Russian Constructivism influences his palette and forms. But Kandinsky maintains his distance. His research on abstraction privileges pure sensation. He seeks forms liberated from all figurative association. The circle becomes his obsession: “I love the circle today as much as I once loved the horse.”
Wassily Kandinsky, Pioneer of Abstraction
Born in Moscow, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) revolutionizes modern art. He theorizes abstraction, explores correspondences between color and sound. As a professor at the Bauhaus, he develops a personal geometric language, always anchored in sensation.
Think about it
💭 Does this work seem cold or vibrant to you? Can geometric forms convey as much emotion as a human figure?
About This Work
- Red Spot II
- Wassily Kandinsky
- 1921
- Oil on canvas
- 131 × 181 cm
- Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich
- Acquired through funds from Hypo-Bank AG München, now UniCredit Bank AG
- https://www.lenbachhaus.de/en/digital/collection-online/detail/roter-fleck-ii-30014568
