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Kandinsky

Kandinsky - The founder of abstract art


The Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), who later lived in Germany and France, is one of the pioneers of twentieth-century art. Nowadays he is regarded as the founder of abstract art and is, moreover, the chief theoretician of this type of painting.

Together with Franz Marc and others he founded the group of artists known as the "Blauer Reiter" in Munich. His art then freed itself more and more from the object, eventually culminating in the "First Abstract Watercolour" of 1910.

In his theoretical writings Kandinsky repeatedly sought the proximity of music; and just as in music, where the individual notes constitute the medium whose effect stems from harmony and euphony, Kandinsky was aiming for a pure concord of colour through the interplay of various shades. Gauguin had demanded that everything "must be sacrificed to pure colours". Kandinsky was the first to realise this and thus to influence a whole range of artists.

About the Series:
Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:
  • a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist
  • approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions
  • a concise biography


About the author:
Hajo Düchting was born in Düsseldorf and trained as a translator. Then he studied art history, archaeology and philosophy. He has worked in museums and has lectured on art history and museum education at the universities of Munich and Leipzig. A painter himself, Hajo Düchting now lives in Munich, where he is also a writer, editor, and art historian.
Facts
Kandinsky

Kandinsky

Düchting, Dr. Hajo
Softcover, flaps, 18.5 x 23 cm (7.3 x 9.1 in.), 96 pages, $ 9.99
ISBN: 978-3-8228-5982-7
Edition: English
Availability: March 2009
  • Events (2 items)toggle
Exhibition
Kandinsky
October 01, 2008 - March 31, 2009
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Luisenstraße 33, München, Germany
  • Reviews (1 items)toggle
"Dieses Buch dokumentiert in verständlichem und informativem Text und hervorragender Bildreproduktion das Werk Kandinskys in einem überaus attraktiven Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis."
Lehrerbibliothek, München, Germany
  • Clippings (1 items)toggle
Wassily Kandinsky 1866-1944: A Revolution in Painting
Art Commerce Journal, United Kingdom, April 01, 2007
  • See also (11 items)toggle
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