Vasily Kandinsky; a Colorful Life

Barnett, Vivian Endicott; Friedel, Helmut

ISBN 10: 0810963191 / ISBN 13: 9780810963191

Published by Dumont ( Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ), Germany, 1995

About this Item

Bright red cloth and endpapers with black facsimile signature on cover and black printing on spine. Gorgeous, fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket with a couple of spots of edgewear at ends of flap folds. Paintings are in the collection of the Lenbachhaus in Munich. Beautifully reproduced paintings in color with many black and white preliminary sketches. 664 pp. Art, Painters, German, Expressionist, Kandinsky.

Seller Inventory # 005352

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Vasily Kandinsky; a Colorful Life
• Publisher: Dumont ( Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ), Germany
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810963191
• ISBN 13: 9780810963191
• Binding: Cloth
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art

About this title

Synopsis

Born in Russia, Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was one of the most original and influential artists to emerge in the twentieth century. He is known primarily for his daring use of color in startling non-objective works. Vasily Kandinsky: A Colorful Life is the most comprehensive and fully illustrated account to date of his early work, from 1900 to 1914, the period in which he made his radical shift to abstraction - and in so doing altered the very concept of art itself.
The works presented here are from the collection of the city museum of Munich, or Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus. They were given to the Galerie in 1957 by the artist Gabriele Munter, who was Kandinsky's companion from 1903 to the beginning of World War I. They are being shown at the Galerie in their entirety for the first time in a major exhibition, for which this book serves as the catalogue.
In compelling, readable text that draws on the latest research, noted Kandinsky expert Vivian Endicott Barnett illuminates the life and work of the artist. She begins with sketches made during his student years in Munich and considers also his interest in folk art, myths and fairy tales, the small oil studies from nature, medieval scenes, woodcuts, glass paintings and landscapes he made before progressing to the first abstractions. Included as well are the important paintings from the series of Improvisations, Impressions, and Compositions, which are among the highlights of his involvement with the Blue Rider group, and later works from his Bauhaus and Paris years.
This sumptuous book includes more than 700 examples of Kandinsky's early genius, most of them brilliantly reproduced in full color. The works are organized chronologically, and paintings are accompanied, when relevant, by preliminary sketches and prints.

Review

"He was the magical artist who heard color and saw sound and was one of the most important and influential artists of his time. Modernism would not have happened in the way it did without him. This new book displays Kandinsky's brilliant use of color and form through some 250 illustration. The book's essays focus on the evolution of his work as he moved from Russia to Munich, his involvement with other artists, and the formation of the important Blue Rider group, his years at the Bauhaus in Berlin, and his late work in Paris."

--Art of the Times