«Василий Кандинский. Путь к беспредметному». Лекция Вероники Губиной

Hello, esteemed virtual listeners of the Nobis Doctrine Center. Today, we continue our conversation about 20th-century art, and our lecture today is dedicated to a specific artist, one of the most significant painters of the century, whose name is associated with one of the most important movements in 20th-century art, a movement that changed all previous notions of art, became a true revolution that perhaps art had not yet known before. This is an artist whose creativity and activity are connected with several states at once. He was born in Moscow. He studied painting in Germany. He worked as an artist in Germany. The last part of his life was spent in France. His work is housed in the largest museums in the world. His name is inscribed in the history of 20th-century art, and he is known not only as a painter but also as an outstanding art theorist. He created his own theory, which also greatly influenced the formation of 20th-century artistic culture. And the name of Vasily Kandinsky, our hero today, is primarily associated with the emergence and development of a movement like abstractionism, abstract, non-objective art, that throughout its existence, art had never turned away from reality, and here, finally, it refused it and turned to itself. And so, our lecture today is, on the one hand, biographical, because, of course, we will talk about Kandinsky's creative path, about important facts of his biography, but at the same time, our main goal is to talk about abstractionism, about how Vasily Kandinsky came to abstract art, how he began to reveal for himself and for those who followed him the possibilities of non-objectivity, of non-objective art. So, let's begin. I said, yes, it is still built a little biographically, of course, since it is dedicated to a personality. And our hero today was born in Moscow in 1866, into a merchant family. He was born, though his childhood was spent in Odessa. When he was 5 years old, the family moved to Odessa. He received an education typical for a child from an intelligent family. In addition to studying at the gymnasium, he took music lessons. He learned to play the piano and cello and studied drawing. Music would have a very strong influence on his life and his work in the future. And later, he asserted that even in childhood, it seemed to him that every color lived its own mysterious life. Even these childhood experiences related to drawing made such an impression on him. But it must be said that a little later, these childhood lessons would be forgotten, and Kandinsky would practically not remember painting for many years. He entered the law faculty of Moscow University. He became an associate professor of the law faculty, taught, and was even promised a professorship at Dorpat, present-day Tartu in Estonia. The Dorpat University was considered one of the best. One could say that a brilliant career as a law professor awaited him. Completely unexpectedly, he decides to leave his previous career and dedicate himself entirely to painting. And in his memoirs, Kandinsky speaks of two events that led him to this decision. The first of them, the first event that influenced his desire to become an artist, was an exhibition of French Impressionists in Moscow in 1895, where he was struck by the painting "Haystacks." This is a whole series painted by Claude Monet in the town of Giverny in the 1880s, where he lived with his family. Claude Monet, the famous Impressionist artist, worked on the same motif many times. About 30 works on this theme are known. He depicted haystacks at different times of the year, at different times of the day, under different lighting conditions, striving to convey the relationships of color and light that arise in nature at a specific moment in time. And in the collections of the State Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, there are paintings from this famous series. The Hermitage version is "Haystacks in Cloudy Weather." The humidity of the air is truly excellently felt in this landscape. The background is perceived as blurred, as if the viewer sees it through a watery mist. It seems like it's raining above the horizon, and a bright poppy flashes in the center, turning into a vibrating wind. As for the version from the Pushkin Museum, Claude Monet was primarily interested in the effects of sunlight, deep contrasts of light and shadow, and the bright, warm colors of summer. Impressionists loved to paint sunny weather. It makes color sound to its fullest, namely, saturated, bright, open color, its interaction with light. And the painterly impression from the interaction of color and light is the main content of Impressionist painting. It must be said that even for the Impressionists themselves, the beauty of pure painting, the inherent beauty of color, color combinations, attracted them. The color changing under the influence of lighting was not so important; the motif was not so important. Claude Monet repeated the same motif many times. The main thing was the purely painterly relationships that could be built on the basis of this motif. That is, the self-worth of painting, its own beauty, is an important achievement of Impressionism. This, in general, opened the way for further achievements in art. One can even say without exaggeration that it is with the achievements of Impressionism that the path to pure painting begins, which will gradually increasingly abandon external reality. Well, here is another example of such a characteristic Impressionist landscape. This is a rather late work by Claude Monet from the Hermitage collection, "Waterloo Bridge," or another title, "Effect of Fog." On the one hand, of course, we see the bridge in London, the famous bridge over the Thames, but the main character of this painting is not the bridge, but the fog. The fog that engulfs the city, dissolves it within itself, blurs the outlines. The world loses its materiality, turns into a ghostly vision, into a colorful symphony. First of all, yes, it was the Impressionists who were already fascinated by the beauty of painting, and in the future, painting would increasingly abandon storytelling, abandon imitation of reality, and focus on its own language, the language of color, line, and form. These tendencies will intensify at the beginning of the century in the works of avant-garde artists. This is a path that truly leads to a real revolution, to a complete rejection of the external world as a source of inspiration, and to admiration for the possibilities of art itself. And it was Vasily Kandinsky who became one of the founders and pioneers of abstract painting. It must be said that, again, along with the impression that Claude Monet's works made on him, he also names the impression from Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" as a very important factor influencing his desire to become an artist. This is another motivating factor, and this moment is quite telling. In the future, painting for Kandinsky will be inextricably linked with music, and much in painting will be analogous to music. He warmly welcomed the radical experiments in music that would also take place at the beginning of the 20th century. Just as in visual art, avant-garde artists would destroy all previous conventions, all previous ideas about the possibilities of art, the same thing would happen at this time in music. So, having decided to engage in art, Kandinsky goes to study in Germany, in Munich. First, he studies with the artist Anton Ažbe, where he received his first skills in composition and working with line and form. However, he quickly grew bored with the classes at this school. He would later often tell how he succumbed to the temptation to skip classes and went with his easel to the park to work outdoors. However, at Anton Ažbe's school, Kandinsky met his future comrades and like-minded people. Among them, by the way, are the students of the famous Ilya Repin, and also Alexei Yavlensky and Marianne von Werefkin. Even at this time, Kandinsky is concerned with the problem of color. They discussed the structure of color, they argued about the peculiarities of its effect on the viewer. Yavlensky even set up a chemical laboratory in his studio to experiment on this topic. And a little later, Kandinsky studies at the Munich Academy of Arts. It must be said that at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Munich was one of the most brilliant artistic centers in Europe. Like other countries at this time, Germany was engulfed by an artistic movement called Art Nouveau. This movement truly took shape as a full-fledged style, and Art Nouveau contrasted itself with academic traditions. And if we talk about the features of Art Nouveau, then beauty of color and line comes to the forefront. That is, these tendencies are common even for the most diverse spheres in art, for the most diverse masters. Nevertheless, these tendencies can be found. And so, a few years after his arrival in Munich, Kandinsky studies at the famous Munich Academy of Arts. The building of the Munich Academy is now on the screen. He studied with the artist Franz von Stuck, who actively participated in the formation of the Art Nouveau style in Germany. In Germany, Art Nouveau was called Jugendstil. The activity of Art Nouveau artists in Germany is associated with the activity of the magazine Jugend and exhibitions of young artists. Well, even the name Jugendstil itself refers to youth, yes, young painters, young art. And besides, Franz von Stuck is one of the main figures of the Munich Secession. Secession means separation, division, yes, so it is indeed when artists, young artists, rejected academic traditions and decided, let's say, to unite and hold their own exhibitions, not to limit themselves by the conventions of the academic school. Now on the screen is an poster of the Munich Secession exhibition of 1897. A kind of symbol of the Art Nouveau style in Germany, and the Secession in particular, became the poster of Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, patroness of arts and crafts. You can also see on the screen a work by Franz Stuck, Kandinsky's teacher, depicting the same goddess. And here, of course, the features of Art Nouveau are well felt, such as the conventionality of space, the beauty of color as an independent principle. Art Nouveau always gravitated towards decorativeness, towards a certain conventionality, towards a flat, decorative element, towards the expressiveness of lines and colors. Art Nouveau sought new sources of inspiration, turned to other art forms, to music, to theater. It was within the framework of Art Nouveau that applied art was elevated to the level of fine art. Art Nouveau artists were inspired by folk art, the art of primitive peoples outside the Old World, as it was understood then. And Kandinsky would also draw inspiration in the future from German folk art and from the traditions of Russian medieval icons, not to mention music, which would be his constant love throughout his life. He attended Franz von Stuck's class at the Munich Academy of Arts in 1900-1901. Interestingly, Stuck considered his palette too bright. At Stuck's insistence, Kandinsky painted exclusively in black and white for a whole year to study form as such, independent of color. But he also engaged in a lot of self-education, painting en plein air, again following the path laid by the Impressionists when they went outdoors and began to draw inspiration directly from the surrounding reality, from changing impressions. And Kandinsky even came to the idea of creating his own private art school. Together with other artists, he founded the Phalanx association to organize his own exhibitions and teach painting. He was ambitious, even from his very first steps in art. And it was at the Phalanx school that Kandinsky met his future life companion, a young artist, Gabriele Münter. A portrait of Gabriele Münter by Kandinsky is now on the screen. It is housed in the famous Lenbachhaus Gallery in Munich. Many of Kandinsky's works are in this collection. The portrait from 1905 gives an idea of Kandinsky's painting style during this period. Again, it is evident that the inspiration for him at this time is the work of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, with a certain conventionality and generalization of forms and lines, and expressive color, color composed of many shades. If you look at how the blouse is painted, you will find many separate brushstrokes of various shades there. It immediately brings to mind the achievements of Impressionism, the important achievements they brought to painting. Gabriele Münter appeared in Kandinsky's art class as a student. Initially, he attracted her as a teacher. In her diaries, she wrote that she liked how he explained things thoroughly and in detail. It must be said that he always had a talent for theoretical exposition; he would not have become an outstanding art theorist in the future for nothing. She was drawn to him primarily as an artist, as a personality, as a person striving for a goal, capable of setting a specific task for himself. Gradually, their relationship grew into friendship, then love, and creative collaboration. And like many artists of that time, they were fascinated by various current trends, diverse aspects of art characteristic of the Art Nouveau era. Kandinsky studied woodcut techniques, experimented with tempera for icon painting. Ancient Russian motifs organically entered his work at this time. For example, the work from 1903, done in tempera on cardboard, "Russian Beauty," or otherwise "Bride," a work from 1903. Here he turns to Russian fairy-tale, epic antiquity. The theme itself, and even the manner of execution, are reminiscent of the works of Vrubel or Bilibin. Kandinsky's work is also distinguished by the symbolism characteristic of Art Nouveau artists. A girl in a festive dress, a bride in a national kokoshnik with a wedding veil, a birch wreath on her knees. And at the same time, a certain melancholy is felt in her pose and even in the color scheme, a feeling of sadness, contemplation, farewell to her former life. In this motionless figure, in how she sits, gazing ahead, in the background, a wooden church, as another attribute of Russian antiquity. The color, applied in flat patches, and a very peculiar character of brushstrokes attract attention here. They lie freely next to each other and can even resemble a mosaic. In the central part of the work, it is known that Kandinsky visited the Italian city of Ravenna in 1903, famous for its mosaics. Byzantine mosaics are preserved there. And perhaps this interest in mosaic technique influenced his style of that time. Furthermore, in this manner of painting with separate flat patches, one can feel a similarity with the work of the artists of Pointillism, or Neo-Impressionism, as they are called in the State Hermitage. These artists also strove for painting with separate brushstrokes. They sought to completely separate color, hence the name Divisionism, from the French verb "diviser," to divide. They divide color; they believe that even on the canvas, color should remain pure; it should sound to its fullest. Brushstrokes should not overlap. Their paintings are indeed similar in structure to mosaics and smalt, with neat, tightly juxtaposed elements. They studied the laws of color, optical laws, combined certain colors to create the desired color effects. Either they were brushstrokes of tones that could merge at a distance optically, or, conversely, opposite, contrasting colors to create the effect of bright light. They experimented with various physical and chemical color theories of that time. And again, the interest in color was primarily characteristic of them. Perhaps this manner of painting also influenced Kandinsky's work during this period. And besides, Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter were not sitting in Munich at this time; they traveled extensively throughout Europe. They visited France. Kandinsky even participated in the Salon of 1905. This was a famous, famous year for French art and European art in general, because in 1905, the Fauvist artists emerged, artists whose work was distinguished by very bright colors. They truly chose light as their main expressive means, and it is not for nothing that Kandinsky would be compared to the Fauves precisely because of his fascination with color. Some of his works from this time, created under the clear influence of French Post-Impressionist artists, also show this. And a little later, there are echoes with "Couple on Horseback," the second version, 1902, this painting is housed in the Pompidou Center in Paris. Here, the desire to convey the atmosphere of a sunny day, the peculiarities of lighting, which was typical of the Impressionists, is combined. At the same time, the background with generalized outlines of houses and towers resembles a geometric structure and echoes Cézanne's late landscapes. The artist Paul Cézanne, a Post-Impressionist, strove for generalization, for revealing the basic form of each object. And this spatial geometry echoes some moments characteristic of Cézanne's landscapes. Furthermore, this fused space, such rich color, such masses of color, here one also recalls the painting of Paul Gauguin. But indeed, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism are what can be easily felt in Kandinsky's work at the very beginning of the 20th century. And the fascination with color expression, with such intense color relationships, is already felt. He uses green and red here, primarily contrasting colors that enhance each other's brightness, that create this impression of a very intense palette. Indeed, this impression of bright lighting. Finally, in 1908, Kandinsky, together with Gabriele Münter, found another source of inspiration: Bavarian nature. They came to the town of Murnau, near the Alps, 50 kilometers from Munich. They settled in a villa located on a hill, offering a view of the town with castles. They even bought this villa, and this villa was called the Russian Villa. The Murnau period is a new expressive manner of Kandinsky. This work, also from the Hermitage collection, is "View of Murnau," precisely this small town near the Alps. And here, of course, one can feel all the energy, all the expression, the power of color in Kandinsky's painting. Here one can, of course, compare him with the Fauvist artists, whose palette was also distinguished by extraordinary intensity. They themselves said that the colors in their paintings seemed to explode with light, they were so bright. Such very open, pure, even crude for the viewers of that time color became a feature of their painting. It is not for nothing that they were called Fauves, from the French "fauve," wild, savages. And here, too, the color is forced. The Bavarian village is depicted. He also uses pure, unmixed colors, simplifies forms again. The geometry is very well felt here, a certain conventionality in the outlines of the roofs, triangular. All forms are simplified, reduced primarily to their basic outlines. He builds a mosaic of flat light patches, conveying the silhouettes of trees in this way. And here, the result of Kandinsky's fascination with so-called "naive" painting, this German folk art, is also evident. This technique involves a black contour and unmixed color planes, in the manner of stained glass. Well, the association with stained glass may also arise here. Conventional, flattened space, saturated, bright color, juicy, thick, noticeable brushstrokes, even in reproduction. At this time, Kandinsky is even attracted by the very texture of painting. He applies paints in thick layers, cherishing the self-worth of paint on the canvas. And the expression of color, its emotional power and expressiveness, is what Kandinsky emphasizes. Again, also from approximately this period of his work, is a landscape from the Hermitage collection, "Winter Landscape," 1909. A mountainous landscape with a high horizon line, not so much seen in nature as transformed by the will of imagination. The free foreground contrasts with the background, where all forms are as if squeezed, anxious. The line of the road creates depth. Color is applied in fragmented patches. Between these patches of color, sharp contrasts are created: yellow, blue, pink, saturated blue. These bold combinations create the effect of shining snow. And the sky looks especially expressive, such light in the heavens, also contrasting combinations of colors, yellow and blue predominate there, primarily. Such a sky can be observed in the sky. And in the center, the glowing facade of the house, bright yellow, as if light from the house windows is placed in the facade. The house beckons the traveler to itself. But here, of course, expressionist tendencies, characteristic of German art of those years, are felt. Expressionism, a movement whose representatives considered expression, emotional saturation of a work, a priority for themselves. First of all, artists strove to express their own subjective emotions, individual vision, individual perception. This was expressed in saturated, sometimes even piercing colors, tense composition, arbitrary distortion of forms. And expressionist artists, again, largely inherit from the artists of the late 19th century. The work of Van Gogh can be considered a precursor to Expressionism, when color is a means of expression, primarily of inner experiences, of the life of the spirit, not so much the external world, but to fill it with inner feeling, to fill it with emotions. And Kandinsky becomes one of the ideologues of Expressionism in German art of this period. This expressionist period is associated with the creation of a new artistic association in Munich in 1909. Kandinsky, his companion Gabriele Münter, as well as the artists we have already mentioned, Alexei Yavlensky, Marianne von Werefkin, and several other artists, create this society, "Neue Künstlervereinigung München" (NKVM). Kandinsky was elected chairman. They prepared a manifesto, a circular on the founding of the association, in January 1909. And the goal of the association, they declared, was to organize exhibitions of fine art in Germany and abroad. Kandinsky expressed himself as follows: "The artist frees himself from the external world, from nature, constantly gathers what is experienced by the inner world, and the search for artistic forms designed to express the interpenetration of all these impressions, the striving for artistic synthesis, seems to us to be the solution." So, even in this circular, in the justification of the association, Kandinsky speaks of the importance of inner experience, inner impression. The artist should not only react to the external world but also to the response that external reality evokes in him individually, personally. And this inner world should also project itself into painting, in his opinion. The striving here, of course, is felt for the separation of the artistic image from its real prototype and its embodiment in subjective, individual reproduction. Yes, so their goal was declared to be the organization of exhibitions. There were always difficulties with exhibitions for young artists. For a long time, academic art dominated official exhibitions, and new trends, new tendencies were often not allowed. Artists were limited in their possibilities. But in the second half of the 19th century, very important changes occurred in various European countries. In France, there was first the Salon des Refusés, then the Salon des Indépendants, without a jury, without any strict selection. Or, if we talk about Germany, we have already mentioned the Munich Secession, in particular, separation. Again, the goal was to organize exhibitions, to provide artists with new opportunities, a platform where they could showcase their works. And new exhibitions appeared precisely because of such radicalization of art, because avant-garde artists truly sought to discover new paths for themselves, were constantly in a state of searching for new possibilities. And Kandinsky, again, in this circular, justification, points to the importance of the fusion in the artist's work of sensual external experience and the world of inner experiences. And what results does this lead him to, if we talk about his own work? Well, for example, a work from approximately the same period, "Blue Mountain," as it is commonly called, or "Blue Mountain," 1908-1909, it is housed in the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His painting becomes more and more generalized, more and more detached from reality, more and more conventional. Symbolic motifs are introduced into it. One of the favorite motifs, which will later resonate and occupy a very important place in Kandinsky's work, is the motif of the rider, the rider among the mountains. And color, it becomes more and more self-sufficient. Objects of the external world become merely an opportunity, a pretext for the declaration of color, for its own existence, its own being. The autonomy of color in Kandinsky's work develops further, and the depiction will be less and less tied to reality. This tendency towards the independence of painting itself is very clearly noticeable. There is less and less interest in what exactly is depicted, and more interest in, well, the very means of painting. This is very clearly noticeable in sketches, in etudes, where the work is not yet finished. A sketch for "Autumn," 1909. The natural motif is still recognizable, but real images are already losing their clear outlines, transforming into a play of pure colors. Later, Kandinsky described what prompted him to seek new expressiveness, why he found this new expressiveness precisely in abstract, non-objective art. He said: "I was standing in front of a painting, and I couldn't make out what it was. It consisted of bright color patches. Finally, I came closer and only then understood what it was. It was my own painting, turned with its painted side to the easel. I understood that the main presence of objects, their depiction, is not at all necessary for my painting, or rather, it is harmful to it." From such an unusual perspective, where we would be distracted from what is depicted and perceive it simply as a combination of color patches. Well, one can simply turn, for example, the same "Blue Mountain," so that the objects are arranged in a somewhat unusual way, and then, of course, it is perceived primarily from the point of view of color, of forms, of contours, of painting. It affects the viewer on its own. And Kandinsky understands in this way that for him, a work of art must primarily be expressive. And this corresponds to the general expressionist tendencies of his work of this period. The striving for expressiveness, for emotional expressiveness, for filling the work with inner content, with this inner feeling. In his opinion, it should express the soul. And he comes to the idea that external forms, imitation of external reality, only limit him in this striving, in the striving for maximum expressiveness. And in 1909, in December, the first exhibition of the new Munich art association was held at the Tannhäuser Gallery. This exhibition received extremely negative reviews from critics. The greatest indignation was caused by the colors in Kandinsky's paintings. And Yavlensky, in the same gallery, attracted much more artists...

Among them were exhibited French avant-garde masters, for example, Pablo Picasso, and even representatives of the Russian avant-garde, the Burliuk brothers. And at this exhibition, a painting by Kandinsky was presented, which unfortunately has not survived itself, but a sketch for it has survived. And what you see on the screen now is precisely the sketch for Composition 2 of 1910. Bright colors are present here, reminiscent of folk art. The image itself is perceived as something festive. Human silhouettes, figures, mountains, forests are distinguishable. But this work by Kandinsky is getting closer and closer. Yes, it is already practically on the verge of abstraction. Facing great criticism, for example, the newspaper "Munich Latest News" wrote about the exhibition's paintings as follows: "shameless deception of incurable madmen."

And in the catalog for the exhibition, Kandinsky says that painting speaks of mystery through mystery. Here he is already hinting at one of the central ideas in his theory of art: that painting can express something invisible, non-physical. Painting is not for the material world, painting is immaterial, just as, say, music does. Painting is capable not only of depicting the external, objective, physical world but also of conveying abstract, metaphysical ideas or deep inner emotional experiences through its means.

And it is very interesting in this regard, regarding expressionism and even its borderline relations with abstract art, that the art historian and theorist of the early 20th century, in his book "Abstraction and Empathy," expressed his views. In this book, he examines two opposing human aspirations in relation to the external world: on the one hand, abstraction, and on the other, empathy. Abstraction is the desire to simplify the world, the desire to reduce it to simple logical forms. Empathy, according to Wölfflin, is a manifestation of trust in the world, a positive attitude towards external reality. However, the reverse side of this type of perception is the fear of the chaos of nature. And the desire for rational order, control over the external world, the desire to simplify, organize, and subordinate it for oneself is always present in humans. Thus, Wölfflin considers different types of artistic thinking. On the one hand, it is the world of abstraction, the world of forms that obey the laws of geometry, which are perceived as beautiful because they lack this feeling of fear of chaos, of life. Life is replaced by geometric order, by forms. And Wölfflin believed that this striving for abstraction, order, simplification, was characteristic even of the ancients. As examples, he cited Egyptian pyramids, Byzantine mosaics, and classical Greek art, subordinate to mathematical order.

But in the early 20th century, according to Wölfflin, abstraction, this idea of abstraction, could gain new possibilities. And this is no longer salvation from chaos in rational order, but rather an immersion into it, an intuitive search in a metaphysical space of pure forms. And it must be said that Kandinsky's work very well illustrates this search for the spirit beyond the material world. This striving for metaphysical heights. He will always say that art is primarily the focus of the spirit. And even one of his famous theoretical works will be titled "On the Spiritual in Art."

And Kandinsky's first abstract works are sketches, drawings where objectivity disappears, where the image is reduced primarily to certain relationships of line and color. This work is untitled, but it is also called the first abstract watercolor of 1910. It is in the Centre Pompidou in Paris. It was created in 1910 and is already a full-fledged abstraction. Despite the fact that in the same period, Kandinsky had not yet completely moved into abstract art, and many of his works from this period can still be attributed to expressionism.

In order to illustrate his theoretical positions, which he published at that time, and yes, here he, of course, abandons objectivity, does not form any associations with the external world, any connected structures. It is proposed to perceive their own expressive power, their independent sound. And in this painting, there is no clearly defined space, up or down. One feels, first of all, dynamism, spontaneity, the layering of paint, the interplay of color spots, the combination of forms that can evoke emotional rather than semantic associations in the viewer.

In 1910, he wrote the text "On the Spiritual in Art," which was published somewhat later, and he says that art must correspond to its time, speaks of the spirit of the age, which is always expressed in art. And he believes that when art has nothing to say, when it does not know what to depict except the material world or some familiar conventions, it loses its true content, it loses the power of the spirit. This is the decline of culture, according to Kandinsky. And such art focuses exclusively on working with form, on experiments with, perhaps, refining form. But for Kandinsky, true painting is painting that primarily strives to express the spirit, the spiritual principle, not that which depicts the external, but that which makes the invisible visible, the inner content of phenomena. And the title of Kandinsky's brochure, "On the Spiritual in Art," is indicative. In the era of the avant-garde, at the beginning of the 20th century, the artist again strives from the visible to the invisible, from the real to the unreal, to the philosophical.

Conversely, it can be said that it descended from heaven to earth, turned its gaze to the beauty of earthly reality. And gradually, these tendencies prevailed. The meaning of the painting is whether he seeks imitation of nature in it or the possibility of directly influencing himself. And the main means of such influence, Kandinsky considered color. His work "On the Spiritual in Art" is dedicated primarily to color, its role in painting, its effect on the viewer, the expressive possibilities of color, the figurative, emotional symbolism that, as Kandinsky believed, is inherent in one color or another from the beginning. He distinguishes two main results: firstly, a purely physical effect on the eye, the beauty of the paint itself, and secondly, a psychological effect. Color generates a vibration of the soul. But in this, he is generally not far from the truth, because colors are indeed capable of affecting a person emotionally in different ways, and a room painted, let's say, in different colors creates a different atmosphere. So, indeed, color undoubtedly has some psychological effect on a person.

In these same years, another artist appeared in Kandinsky's circle, also a like-minded person in some sense, with similar aspirations: Franz Marc. He joined the new art association in Munich after seeing an exhibition. He liked the early examples of rhythm, spatial division, and color theory. Marc himself chose an interesting path. He quite early concentrated on depicting animals, which became for him a symbol of the pristine purity and innocence of the world. For him, an animal acted as an embodiment of the harmony of a living being and its environment. The forms of animal bodies, even the behavior of animals in nature, were also considered by him as an emanation of some spirit of nature. And his favorite subject is the depiction of groups of horses in a pasture, and usually these groups are rhythmically organized and executed in bright, intense tones. Light was intended to convey powerful natural energy. And he, for example, in these works presented on the screen, turns to one of his favorite themes: horses, grazing horses, or the famous "Blue Horse," also his work from 1911. And here, of course, one feels primarily the fascination with color, just as it was characteristic of Kandinsky. And color for Marc was also a way to convey some energy of nature, this living pulsation. According to his own words, it is not surprising that he and Kandinsky found each other, found much in common in their aspirations. And after meeting and communicating, they came up with the idea of creating an almanac that would illustrate contemporary artistic life. Kandinsky proposed to place the most diverse types of art side by side, the most diverse genres, to consider them as a single whole, not to divide them into high and low. They want to express new, genuine ideas in art in the almanac, to compare the most diverse phenomena of different historical epochs, including the art of the East, folk art, and so on.

The almanac was published in May 1912, and the title of the almanac that was chosen was "The Blue Rider." For Kandinsky, the image of the Blue Rider is a mystical, spiritual image. His fascination with icon painting had an effect here. He highly valued Russian icons with their simplicity, clear, pure color. And the image of the Blue Rider is associated with the image of Saint George, the victorious warrior on Rus', who became famous for his victory over the serpent, the embodiment of the victory of good over evil. And in icons, Saint George is depicted primarily as a rider striking down a dragon, striking down a serpent. Well, perhaps for Kandinsky, this was also a very important idea: this struggle for true art. And it is not surprising that the Blue Rider became for him precisely the personification of this idea. And blue color also had a certain mystical-symbolic meaning for Kandinsky. Here, too, one can compare his perception of color with how color was perceived in medieval culture. Symbolism of color is characteristic of medieval art. Blue color in religious symbolism is a mystical color, symbolizing the heavenly kingdom. And blue color for Kandinsky, as he himself characterized it, is a characteristic heavenly symbol of the spirit, first of all. And in this almanac, Kandinsky proclaims the era of new spiritual art. The holy warrior conquering evil becomes a symbol of this new spiritual era. Eleven watercolor sketches by Kandinsky for the almanac's cover are known. In the end, this one, with a predominant blue color, was chosen. And the almanac directly expressed the idea of a great spiritual revolution in art, of universal art that would encompass all types and embody the very spirit of humanity.

As we said earlier, Kandinsky's artistic development was influenced not only by painting, the painting of Claude Monet in particular, but also by the music of Richard Wagner. And in the brochure "On the Spiritual in Art," he constantly compares music and painting, finding many parallels in how these art forms affect people. He quotes Schumann's statement: "The calling of the artist is to send light into the depths of the human heart." Well, as examples of contemporary artists who seek a spiritual path in art, he also names composers Wagner, Debussy, Mussorgsky, Scriabin, and Schoenberg, the famous composer Arnold Schoenberg, whose music made a very strong impression on Kandinsky. Music is indeed the art that is most detached from the world of things. Music appeals primarily to the listener's deep emotions. It seems to operate with certain emotional energies. And for Kandinsky, painting and music are not identical but related, since painting, in his opinion, operates with the energy of color, just as music operates with the energy of sound.

And in January 1911, Kandinsky and Franz Marc, his new friend and like-minded person, attended Arnold Schoenberg's New Year's concert in Munich. And under the impression of the music, Kandinsky created "Impression" or, in other words, "Impression." Here, the impressionists, the painters of impressions, come to mind. Well, this is the word he also used: "impression," yes, the impression of this concert. Actually, at the concert, he heard two string concertos by Schoenberg, and Schoenberg was experimenting with the rules of musical composition at that time, creating his first atonal compositions. This implies the composer's rejection of familiar harmonic tonality. Other methods of melody construction are used, which lead to the creation of unusual, ambiguous sound combinations that disrupt the very framework. Schoenberg preferred the term "pantonal" which means not a rejection of tonality, but a synthesis of all tonalities. And in his string quartets, Schoenberg uses his new, revolutionary techniques, and Kandinsky listened to Schoenberg's second string quartet at this concert. After this concert, he wrote to him and discussed the kinship of dissonance in contemporary music and painting. In his first letter to Schoenberg, Kandinsky wrote: "The independent following of one's own destiny, the independent life of individual voices in your compositions – this is precisely what I am trying to find in pictorial forms." And Schoenberg, in turn, replied that he was very pleased when an artist working in another art form felt a connection with him. Kandinsky even invited Schoenberg to participate in the almanac "The Blue Rider," and subsequently they maintained a friendly relationship for many years.

And Kandinsky's main goal was to convey the impression of the concert. It was an attempt to translate this acoustic, this musical impression into the language of painting, to find its color equivalent. Kandinsky said that he did not intend to paint music with paints, but nevertheless, he constantly compares their expressive means, compares color and sound, and this comparison of sound is constantly present in his artistic theory, these comparisons are constantly present.

And, for example, in another work from approximately these years, also from 1913, "Black Strokes" or "Black Lines," as they are also called, in the St. Petersburg Museum of Modern Art. For example, about blue color, a very deep, saturated color, this sky blue. Blue color for Kandinsky was associated with peace. He said it was an element of peace. And in musical representation, light blue was like the sound of a flute, dark blue like a cello. And if blue becomes very deep, it is like the sound of a double bass. Green color, he considered maximally calm and passive, absolutely green, as he said, and compared it to the middle. White and black, according to his musical associations, are pauses. And Kandinsky believed that colorful tones, like musical ones, produce subtle vibrations of the soul, and the combination of these tones can be compared to musical harmony. Form and color have their own language, capable of expressing emotions. They have, in his expression, a certain psychic sound. And it is clear that the artist is concerned with the spiritual content of art, its expressive possibilities. Naturally, he compares music and painting. Music is indeed the least material art; it uses sounds to express the inner life. The artist, turning to music, tries to translate it, as it were, into the language of painting. We come to the unification of various art forms, as Kandinsky wrote about music and painting.

And based on his ideas about how visual art can express emotional energy, this life of the spirit, Kandinsky created his general concept of painting. He believed that three sources of inspiration can be distinguished in painting. Firstly, it is the direct impression of the surrounding world, or nature. He called it "impression" or "impromptu." His early works, his impressionist and fauvist works, can be considered examples of this kind of impression, as well as his later "Impressions." Another option, largely unconscious and spontaneous expression of inner impressions, of inner spiritual nature, he called "Improvisation." This is a direct expression of the spirit in forms and colors. Indeed, these works produce the greatest impression of spontaneity, even impulsiveness, especially in his later works. If we compare, for example, the "Improvisation" that he showed earlier, from 1910, with "Improvisation" from 1912, we can see how he becomes truly more spontaneous. The image is increasingly freed from direct associations with the external world, with its objects and images, although he still starts from arbitrarily chosen motifs. For example, here are these energetic black lines and silhouettes of a boat with rowers. This is an alternative title for "Improvisation 26" - "The Rower." But here, the line and color already affect the viewer independently.

And finally, along with "Impression," which borrows impressions from the external world, and along with "Improvisation," which is a spontaneous expression of the spirit, an expression primarily of certain inner emotions and states, there are also "Compositions." He considered "Compositions" to be a culmination, a peak for himself. He believed that great works of art are symphonic compositions in which the most important thing is balance and arrangement of parts. And "Compositions" are his most famous works. He wrote that from the very beginning, the word "composition" itself sounded like a prayer to me. The first of his compositions dates back to 1910, and "Compositions" have run through Kandinsky's entire creative work, from his first steps towards abstraction to his last Parisian period. Unfortunately, the first three compositions were destroyed during World War II; only their photographs have survived, or sketches for them.

And this is "Composition 4," which is kept in one of the German collections. And Kandinsky commented on this work of his. He generally commented on his works, described what exactly he was creating, what goals he set for himself. And, for example, how he describes this work: he says that in the middle and at the bottom is blue, which gives everything a cold sound. In the upper right, divided blue, red, yellow. In the upper left, black lines of intertwined horses. In the lower right, a projection of lines. He still does not completely abandon some associations here, but they have already turned into abstract pictorial forms. And he also describes this work constantly, presenting it as a combination and contrast: a contrast between mass and line, between precision and blurriness, between the intertwining of lines and the intertwining of colors. And the entire composition, in his opinion, is conceived precisely as a kind of conflict, where a large number of delicate tones are contrasted with much richer and brighter ones: these pale yellow, yellow, yellow-turquoise, against the saturated blues and reds. He even describes it as follows: the relationship of light, delicate, cold to sharply moving. That's what it is. And when Kandinsky describes his works, he constantly uses terms like "mass," "harmony of calm masses," or "sharp movement to the left and down," for example. That's how he can characterize contradictions within movement, harmony of masses, lines, the contrast between smooth and contour forms. It sounds like a technical commentary: masses, forces, contrasts, movement, contradictions, harmony. He seems to be describing not the image, but the forces and principles that underlie it. In his opinion, these forces and principles also lie at the foundation of the world. Painting, Kandinsky wrote, is the roar, the clash of different worlds, intended through the struggle among these worlds to create a new world, which each work arises from. And technically, it arises through catastrophes, like a chaotic orchestra that ultimately turns into a symphony.

Meanwhile, a split occurs in the new art association in Munich. In December 1911, the members of the group refuse to exhibit Kandinsky's work "Composition 5" at the exhibition, motivating it by the fact that it is too large. But this was just a pretext; the reason was different. "Composition 5" became a landmark work in the artist's oeuvre. And the Hermitage Museum has a study for this composition. It is interesting that during this period, Kandinsky was inspired by themes of universal catastrophe. It occupied his mind. He was inspired by images of biblical catastrophes, he was inspired by biblical epics. And for this work, he chose the motif of the Last Judgment. There is a preliminary sketch. He used the technique of painting on glass to create preparatory works. He always worked for a very long time on preparation for these compositions. He created many studies, sketches, different preliminary variants. And in the preliminary sketch on glass, there were figures of resurrected people, a trumpeting archangel, a collapsing city, and the sea element from which a monster rises. But in this study, the transformed image is primarily chaos, the image of destruction, transformation, wavy movement of lines, and a blurred spot of blue in the center. Indeed, it can create associations with the sea abyss. In the lower left corner, one can see a boat with people who seem to be trying to escape. Here again is the motif of the rower that was present in his "Improvisation." These long black lines, like a snake, and a black ribbon winds across the canvas as if over everything else. Such restless spots of color, the dissolution of the world in chaos, as if one can truly hear the sounds of the trumpets of the Last Judgment. And this is a sketch for "Composition 5." The composition itself is kept in a private collection, almost unchanged, except that the black ribbon-snake has become even more aggressive, denser.

After this episode of refusal to exhibit the painting, Kandinsky, his friend Gabriele Münter, and the artist Franz Marc left the new art association in Munich. They opened their own exhibition called "The Blue Rider." They participated in various exhibitions. The war disrupts the activities of this group. Franz Marc will die at the front in World War I. By that time, Kandinsky had already advanced quite intensively on the path to abstraction. And in the Hermitage collection, there is one of his most famous and significant compositions: "Composition 6." It was painted in 1913, on the eve of World War I. Initially, Kandinsky intended to call this work "The Flood," as he was again inspired by episodes from the Bible. He wanted to depict a catastrophe of universal scale, reminiscent of the Great Flood. And if one looks at it closely, one can see remnants of this initial idea. Objects seem to be drowning in swirling masses of matter, as if in the waves of a stormy sea. But this work also evokes associations with the sound of instruments, precisely in the manner that Kandinsky speaks of. These spots of color are layered one on top of the other, a color chord like a musical chord. Colors seem to clash with each other, dissolve into each other. One can imagine such low, dark basses, or conversely, shimmering high notes. Here, indeed, spots of light tones are surrounded by dark masses of deep, dark colors. And Kandinsky himself described this work as follows: again, he described it himself. For example, he believed that there are two centers in this painting: on the left, a delicate pink, somewhat blurred, and on the right, a rough red-blue, in some ways dissonant, with sharp, unkind, very precise lines. And on the border between these two centers of the painting, everything seems to hang in the air. Again, this is his description, his characterization. And there is not even any main center. Indeed, it dissolves, as it were. According to Kandinsky, the overall impression of the entire painting is determined in this way. He uses the term "largo," a term borrowed from music, a term that defines the tempo and, in general, the character of the work's sound. He believes that this term "largo" is ideal for describing, for example, these long, solemn lines, as he himself calls them. It is interesting that they can even be associated directly with musical instruments, with the necks of musical instruments, with strings, although Kandinsky did not set himself such a task directly. Again, he uses associations. For example, he says the following: "I allowed a whole fugue of pink spots of various shades to play out in the painting." He believes that this pink in his composition is characterized by a solemn, calm mood. Deep brown forms introduce a condensed, abstractly sounding form. One can see, for example, in the lower part of the canvas or in the upper left corner, especially dark colors, green and yellow, enliven the emotional state, giving it the necessary activity. He continued to experiment with the texture of the painting itself. He says: "I used a combination of smooth and rough areas, as well as many other techniques for processing the canvas surface. Therefore, approaching the painting up close, the viewer experiences new sensations." He directly states that the original motif of the flood, the connection to the plot, is dissolved. It has become purely pictorial. He says: "It would be nothing more erroneous than to impose the original plot on this painting."

So, such a grandiose catastrophe, and at the same time, a hymn of praise, again in Kandinsky's words, a hymn of new creation that follows the catastrophe. Indeed, Kandinsky, with his painting, seems to destroy worlds and create them anew. It is as if he wants to convey this very process of creating a new world by destroying the old one, how a new reality arises from these swirling forms. When critics wrote about Kandinsky's paintings, they also often used musical terminology, for example, "original principle of color symphony" or called Kandinsky a "fanatic of rhythm," emphasizing precisely the rhythm in the organization of these lines, forms, and color masses that are characteristic of his works. And Kandinsky ironically said: "Munich criticism explains the colorfulness of my paintings by Byzantine influence, and Russian criticism explains the colorfulness of my paintings by Western European influence." In general, he considered critics incompetent. He visited Moscow, Odessa, the city where he spent his childhood, St. Petersburg, participated in exhibitions of Russian artists, for example, exhibitions of the Moscow Society of Artists, participated in the first exhibition of "Jack of Diamonds" in 1910. And at the same time, he continues to insist that his painting is an external expression of an internal impression, clothed in pictorial form, again, painting that would express primarily the spiritual and emotional principle.

Here is another composition by Kandinsky, which is kept in Russia: "Composition 7" of 1913 from the Tretyakov Gallery. This is the culmination of Kandinsky's work in the period before World War I. He created more than thirty sketches, watercolors, and preparatory oil works for it. But again, his compositions were always preceded by a period of long preliminary work, where the final concept gradually crystallized. He refined all the elements, refined the orchestration of forms, in his own words. And the composition itself, as a result of all this long preparatory work, was painted in just 4 days. There are photographs taken in November 1913. They capture this rather rapid creation. "Composition 7" from the Tretyakov Gallery is inspired by biblical images and themes. Researchers find here motifs that are related to the resurrection from the dead, to the Last Judgment.

With a paradise garden, it is also in Kandinsky's interpretation that they again turn into a symbiosis of pure painting. Kandinsky did not reduce the role of color simply to some visual perception, to psychophysiology; he attributed a mystical-symbolic meaning to color. Yes, it is inherent in him from the beginning, objective, and not due to the individual associations of the viewer. He believed that he embodies on the canvas certain objectively existing energies of primary essence, pervading the world, which expresses itself in color. Objects represent boundaries, such limitations for color and form. They need to be freed and allowed to sound independently. In general, artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were prone to mysticism and a mystical worldview. The essence of abstract painting often lay in the fact that they wanted, well, strived for something more than just fixing the surrounding reality. They strived, by means of painting and visual art, to express the inexpressible, to express the life of the spirit, to express, precisely, this special worldview that was characteristic of them. Kandinsky was fascinated by theosophy and mystical teachings. In his works, researchers find the influence of the mystic theosophist Rudolf Steiner. In his book "Concerning the Spiritual in Art," he names those who influenced him, those art figures who embodied the spirit of the time before him, for example, Nietzsche, Bergson, yes, philosophers, the composer Debussy, artists Matisse and Picasso, as well as the discoveries of atomic physics. He also names them as contributing factors to the development of abstract art. Soon after the end of the First World War, Kandinsky received an invitation to become a professor at the Bauhaus. The next period of his activity is connected with the famous experimental school and workshop. This school was founded by the architect in 1919. From the German words "Bau" (to build) and "Haus" (house), the simple, clear goals of the school's creators were expressed in its name. But it is primarily an architectural school, although in reality, they saw their tasks much more broadly, striving for a synthesis of arts, to create, one might even say, a total work of art. This idea was very popular in the 20th century. According to what laws does architecture work? It is considered a universal concept, a home for society. And indeed, Gropius, the founder of the school, first and foremost, preached the idea of the synthesis of arts. It was believed that painting, architecture, and sculpture should be united together for the creation of the structure of the future, yes, as a kind of ideal building of art. And in the 1919 manifesto of the Bauhaus, they said the following: "The ultimate goal of all education is the craftsman. There are no fundamental differences between us. Let us form a new guild of craftsmen." And so, Kandinsky was invited as a professor to the Bauhaus school. He headed the painting workshop from 1922. Training was conducted in parallel in art and production workshops. This was theoretically based on art, then they turned to the materials and methods of specific types of art, and finished their studies with a course in design and construction engineering skills. Kandinsky's work during this period is influenced by the constructivist ideas that prevailed at the Bauhaus at that time, that is, under the influence, of course, of these searches related primarily to architecture. And this transition was natural for him. Let's recall this triad: impression, improvisation, composition, which he established for himself. He spoke of impression as works created under the influence of external impressions. Improvisation is like a spontaneous expression of inner feeling. And composition is like an arrangement, such an orchestration of form where these inner feelings are slowly reprocessed, ordered, subjected to, well, such careful analysis and selection. It is not for nothing that he worked so thoroughly and for a long time on his compositions. Preparatory work took a lot of time. And so, he approaches the construction of the composition of a painting, to the rational and conscious construction. In general, even in his early works, one feels, yes, I mean, those abstract ones related to his searches in the field of non-objectivity. Describing these works of the 1910s, and in the 1920s when he collaborated with the Bauhaus and taught there, he already uses elements that are directly related to the perception of space organization, geometry, and structure. He taught several courses there: analytical drawing, foundations of artistic design, and his most famous course, color. Well, in this course, he taught the theory of color, completely rethinking the ideas about color, up to the psychology of color perception. And the result of his research was the book "Point and Line on a Plane." One famous theoretical work of Kandinsky, which we discussed earlier, is "Concerning the Spiritual in Art," where he mainly talks about the spiritual content of painting. And "Point and Line on a Plane" was published by the Bauhaus in 1926. And most of Kandinsky's paintings from the 1920s are a practical embodiment of his theoretical ideals. In painting, however, Kandinsky is still more impulsive than in his theoretical constructions, but it is very easy to correlate what he expresses in his theory with how he realizes it in practice. His book is an attempt to create, well, a kind of grammar of art, an analysis of the language of painting, the elements of which it consists. He speaks of the goal of these theoretical works as follows: "One of the most important tasks of the emerging science of art should be a detailed analysis of the entire history of art in terms of artistic elements, construction, and composition in different times and among different peoples. It is necessary to identify the growth and development in these areas." And the first inevitable question, Kandinsky writes, is the question of artistic elements, which are the building material of a work. And it is necessary to start, in his opinion, with the first element of painting, with a point. Well, he considers point and line to be the foundation from which the entire edifice of painting grows. On the screen, drawings from Kandinsky's book "Point and Line on a Plane" from 1926 are presented. Point and line, examples of different forms of a point. Kandinsky considered the point from various aspects. He writes that a geometric point is an invisible object. In written text, a point is a symbol of a break, of non-being, and at the same time, it becomes a bridge between one being and another, that is, it acts as a positive element, as an element of connection. In speech, a point is silence. And finally, he considers a point as an independent object when it is torn from its usual state, free from practical expediency, when it begins to live as an independent artistic object. Yes, in the world of painting. From the point, he moves on to talking about the line. Here, one can even illustrate this interest in the line with one of his works created even before he began teaching at the Bauhaus, "White Line," 1920, which is kept in the Cologne Museum. A line from Kandinsky's perspective is, well, within his theory, as he describes it, a trace of a moving point. That is, a work created by a point. A line arises from movement. A line arises from the destruction of stillness. Here, there is a transition from statics to dynamics. That is, he considers the line as the opposite of a point and designates it as a secondary element. A line as an independent element possessing its own value, tension, and direction is present in Kandinsky's works of various years, created even before his move to Weimar, where he began teaching at the Bauhaus. The first Bauhaus building was located in Weimar, then a building was built in another place, in Dessau. Both buildings of the Bauhaus school were shown earlier in the photographs. And again, in this book, he considers the variants of the existence of a line: vertical, diagonal, horizontal. The simplest form of a straight line is the horizontal. In human perception, it corresponds to the line or surface on which a person stands or moves. The horizontal, in Kandinsky's terminology, is a cold, supporting base. This is how he describes it. Completely opposite to this line is the vertical, in which flatness is replaced by height, and cold by warmth. And the third typical type of straight line is the diagonal, which deviates from the horizontal and vertical. And he considers the diagonal to be a uniform element in which opposites are combined. He explores, well, a kind of genealogy of elements, for example, a circle as an effect of the densification of curves, considers the origin of the circle and spiral. Again, these are all drawings from his book. He seems to analyze the process of creation of the world, from static, from individual elements to ways of their connection and organization, yes, to structure. And his paintings of these years are a kind of creative laboratory where he conducts experiments on the very elements of art that he studies so thoroughly. Well, for example, also from this period, the 1920s, a work that may evoke an association with the work of, say, Suprematist artists, yes, again, Russian avant-garde artists. "Circles in a Circle," 1923, this work is kept in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is one of the first works where Kandinsky began to explore the circle as an artistic unit, as an artistic element. In one of his letters, he says: "This is my first painting where I bring the theme of circles to the forefront. A very cohesive, compact, closed composition." Here, this idea of the circle is indeed played out. In the simplest expression of color, such a saturated and at the same time semi-transparent color, we create such optical dynamic effects. This outer black circle serves as an additional frame for the painting. Inside this circle, this synthesis, one might even say, conflict of elements, and at the same time their dissolution into each other, is happening. And he, the author, focuses all attention on the interaction of the circles in the center, and two intersecting diagonal bands create a perspective effect, yes, and also enhance the concentration of elements. Well, again, color will always play a very important role in his works, even when he is fascinated by point and line, when he comes to, well, such more geometrically rational works, color still remains for him one of the most important elements, even when he rationalizes forms, instead of complex, changing shades, simple color planes, instead of some vague associations with objects, simple forms in the shape of circles, triangles, quadrilaterals. Here they are distributed over a blue background. Again, blue color always plays a very important role for him, often defining the visual structure of works. And here these forms overlap each other, again become transparent, creating an ambiguous optical impression of space. Indeed, here one can, well, draw such a parallel, such an association, perhaps, with the infinite process of the creation of the cosmos. It is not for nothing that Kandinsky himself called these first elements that he studied the building material of painting. A circle is one of the simplest planes formed from straight lines, and he uses them in his finished works. A circle is a complete absence of straight lines, yes, a complete absence of angles. Its opposite figure is a triangle, with three straight lines and three angles. And both the triangle and the circle are opposite to each other. If color is added to these oppositions, then another dimension appears. Kandinsky also distinguishes three pairs of opposing elements: first, a straight line and a curved line; respectively, the curve dominates in the circle, and the straight line in the triangle. Well, the second pair, which is derived from the primary elements, is the triangle and the circle. The circle is a combination of curves, the triangle is a combination of straight lines and angles. And the figures intermediate between them are the square, whose angles are softened compared to the triangle. Yes, at the same time, if we recall the, well, the temperature meaning that Kandinsky attributes to horizontals and verticals, then the horizontal plane embodies cold for him, the vertical, on the contrary, yes, warmth. And in a rectangle, warmth and cold are balanced. A rectangle is a very balanced figure. Well, and finally, yellow and blue colors characterize, respectively, warm and cold. Well, and the third of the main colors of the spectrum, red, in his theory, these were mixed warm-cold properties. Red color. In the work "Development and Center," one can see how he works with these elements, and also uses color as a source not only of visual but even, one might say, of this temperature structure of the painting. Here too, one can feel, yes, with this understanding of how differently color sounds, warm and cold, and how he correlates these elements. The dramatic contrast of yellow and blue, a kind of dynamic struggle of lines, forms, and colors, of those internal tensions in the theoretical work, and in this painting too, he declares them. It is interesting that Kandinsky considered the problem of color quite traditionally. For example, this idea that the fundamental polar colors are yellow and blue is an idea that was already put forward by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. And in general, many artists, both Eastern and Western, and in particular, for example, the idea of working with three primary colors – yellow, blue, and red – is close to what the art group De Stijl was doing at the same time, led by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. Look at the screen, here is a color scale created by Kandinsky. [Music] He created such a transition from warm tones to cold ones and also uses these primary colors – yellow, red, blue, and white and black as, well, such non-colors. Remember, he associated them with the Dutch group. They strived for a minimum of expressive means, they reduced colors to three primary ones: red, blue, and yellow, and two non-colors: white and black. It is interesting that from the point of view of artistic principles, they are indeed close to the ideology of the Bauhaus. But in general, they were influenced by the philosophy of a mathematician named M. E. M. Escher, and attributed cosmic significance to colors. The three main colors are yellow, red, and blue, respectively. According to this theory, they are the only existing colors. Yellow is the movement of a sunbeam vertically. Blue is the contrasting color to yellow, horizontal, the celestial vault. Red is a combination of yellow and blue. Well, yes, the same combination of these primary colors – red, yellow, and blue – can be found in Kandinsky's work, which is called exactly that. It signifies the appearance of so-called cold romanticism, in Kandinsky's words, this is an important work of his from the 1920s, the second half of the 1920s. He considered the circle a romantic figure. "The circle that I have been using so often lately can be called nothing else but romantic." He even uses the term "cold romanticism." "The current romanticism is essentially deeper, more beautiful, more meaningful, and more beneficial. It is a piece of ice in which fire burns." And for Kandinsky and the artists of the De Stijl group, red, blue, and yellow are the basis of the color spectrum, but as it is, according to classical art theory, black, gray, and white are not colors. And on such a contrast between color and non-color, some of Kandinsky's works are built, for example, "In Gray," a work that is kept at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Well, it is somewhat earlier than what we are discussing now. And yes, in his book "Point and Line on a Plane," he also presents this scale of color temperatures from the warmest yellow to the coldest blue. White and black are peculiar boundaries of this scale. Here is an interesting work from 1932, a later one, "Layered," where he also explores the problem of color and the relationship of geometric forms. It is kept in a private collection. Relatively recently, in the mid-2000s, it was sold at Christie's auction. Well, Kandinsky's works are now regular guests at major auction houses. So, from saturated warm red, the color transitions to warm pink, then to cool raspberry tones and lilac tones, followed by violet and blue. They gradually become darker and deeper. That is, the whole scale is presented here in the form of several rather disparate elements. And the base itself also combines these different shades. Here, the transition from warm red to a gradually cold, deep violet occurs through a whole sequence, through a whole gamut of shades. And here, the effect of layering, of semi-transparent layers that overlap each other in different ways, creating shades of different light intensity and different temperatures, cold and warm, is also created. The main work of Kandinsky's Bauhaus period, again, is this monumental composition, "Composition VIII," 1923, which is kept in New York. And he considered this painting one of the most important, an accurate expression of his theory about the emotional properties of color, line, and form. During the completion of this composition, he was working on the book "Point and Line on a Plane." The book was published three years later. This is a kind of visual dictionary of his theory. Yes, he combined his books here. Again, let me remind you, horizontals, from Kandinsky's point of view, sound low; verticals, warm and high. Sharp angles are warm, sharp, active, and yellow. And straight lines are cold, restrained, and red. Motifs from Kandinsky's previous works are also found here. Well, for example, sharp triangular forms refer to his earlier landscapes, when one of the constant motifs was the motif of a mountain, the image of a mountain. Here you can also see such a free depiction of a mountain and a cross, even here are these elements that are reminiscent, among other things, of his landscapes with a fascination with biblical motifs, even church architecture was present in various works. And even some such individual elements that are reminiscent of those early works can also be found here. From the sixth and seventh compositions, a kind of Apocalypse, which we considered, to the geometric rationality of "Composition VIII." Well, as if according to the universal law of harmony after the initial chaos of forms. Then we can return to the statement of Ringer, a theorist who spoke about abstraction and expressionism. He said that there is abstraction in a geometric order, such a simplification, let's say, an attempt to control external chaos. Yes, so indeed, Kandinsky seems to move from the feeling of his early works, where he already, yes, to such a truly geometric analysis and order. "Composition VIII" was one of the first paintings acquired by the collector Solomon Guggenheim. He visited the Bauhaus in 1930, where he immediately bought several of Kandinsky's works, and this marked the beginning of an extensive collection in the Guggenheim Museum in New York. A large collection of Kandinsky's works is kept there. In 1925, they moved to Dessau, a city near Leipzig. A new building was built there. And later, in 1931, political difficulties began. The Nazis eventually came to power, who considered avant-garde art as, well, let's say, unworthy of state attention and state support, and generally of the right to exist. They declared it a hotbed of Bolshevism in culture. And Kandinsky, like many other artists of that time, avant-garde artists and representatives, left Germany. He and his new life companion, his wife Nina Andreevskaya, went to Paris. Paris would become the city where the last years of Kandinsky's life would pass. His last creative stage is connected with Paris. They settled in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, and he painted many works there. Many of them were unfortunately lost. Again, the Nazis declared Kandinsky's painting and many other avant-garde artists' paintings degenerate, and a series of works were destroyed. Well, as for his work of this late period, for example, "Sky Blue," 1940. His life will end in 1944, so this is already the late period. For example, "Sky Blue," his famous work from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, where blue, sky blue, again becomes the basis of the entire work. But here, a turn towards a somewhat different aesthetic is already felt. And at this time, by the way, he lived very secluded, limiting his communication only to old friends, and was somewhat isolated from his colleagues. In principle, abstract painting during this period is experiencing, well, one might say, a lull, a peculiar one, before its further rapid development. And during this time, his painting system is transformed. He works mainly with a muted palette and complements and complicates the repertoire of his forms. Yes, new, very interesting biomorphic elements come to the forefront, which seem to float across the entire surface, as if in their own space, the space of the painting. In this period, his works are far from the feeling of cold romanticism, about which he spoke in relation to his works of the 1920s. On the contrary, they possess something very lively. Associations with children's toys and drawings even arise. Well, some kind of positive beginning is present here. In general, during this time, one can find the work of other avant-garde artists, both European and American. Again, much here will be connected with political processes, since, for example, many European artists will move overseas to the United States of America. As a result, New York will become a new major art center. In the second half of the 1940s, abstract art, and European avant-garde art in general, will greatly influence the development of American painting. Interesting trends can be seen by comparing, for example, Kandinsky's work from 1940 with the work of the famous American abstractionist Jackson Pollock. Even the titles are similar. Yes, Kandinsky's is "Sky Blue," Jackson Pollock's is "Blue," the second title is "Moby Dick." Well, here an association with the sea element arises, of course. Well, the idea itself, yes, of this blue field and some complex biomorphic, semi-abstract forms, of course, in Pollock they are expressed to a greater extent, a more expressive beginning, perhaps less conscious. And parallel searches are also being conducted by artists, say, Surrealists. One can also compare Kandinsky's works with the work of, for example, Miró, such a parallel search in art. Surrealism as a movement, in principle, encompasses both figurative and abstract painting. It became a new opportunity for figurative art and thus embraced abstract motifs. Surrealism opened up a new dimension for art, turned to the activity of the subconscious, to the images of the subconscious, which became a very important source of inspiration. And it must be said that the abstract artists of the next generation will combine in their work, on the one hand, these interesting experiments with form that could be observed in Kandinsky's work, and at the same time, for Kandinsky, this experiment always had a spiritual-symbolic character, and he also endowed these primary elements of art with a very important meaning. And at the same time, yes, to these formal searches, spiritual searches are also added, including the exploration of the human soul, which was characteristic of Surrealist artists. It is not for nothing that here one can compare, place, for example, Kandinsky's composition from 1940 and, for example, the work of Jean Miró, the famous Surrealist, "Birds and Insects." Yes, the geometric primary elements that Kandinsky meticulously analyzed during his work at the Bauhaus are transformed into such natural, organic forms, as if they have some material beginning, become particles of matter, as if he is moving from this primary building material to living cells. It must be said that in these years, due to the shortage of materials, the sizes of his works became smaller and smaller, up to the point when he began to work with gouache on small-format cardboard. And in these works, one can indeed feel some positive beginning, despite the fact that it was an extremely difficult time, a tragedy was happening in the world, and painting for Kandinsky remains a space free from the intrusion of external reality. He himself called this period of creativity a "truly picturesque fairy tale." He continues to expound and perfect his theory. Abstract art creates a new world alongside the real one, outwardly having nothing in common with reality, but internally obeying the general laws of the cosmic world. Alongside the world of nature, a new world of art appears. "I prefer abstract art," he said, "to call it concrete art." Well, and if we talk about some conclusions, yes, some final moments. So, perhaps the most important thing we can say about the achievements of abstractionism and Kandinsky in particular, as one of its founders, as one of the pioneers of abstract art, is, of course, first and foremost, the assertion of the self-worth of painting itself, the discovery of new possibilities for it. Yes, painting not tied to external reality, painting that can serve as a way, as a means, for much more. Then it can express some spiritual beginning and the emotional experiences of the artist. And with the help of painting, one can even formulate the process of the creation of the world, the image of the universe as such. Here, one can even distinguish two directions that are equally relevant to Kandinsky's activity: on the one hand, intuitive, expressive abstraction. Yes, his earlier abstract works can be considered in this vein, where, first and foremost, color truly serves as a way to convey some emotional energies, some emotional-spiritual beginning. It is not for nothing that these associations and parallels with music have been constantly used. And at the same time, even within his own activity, and this is also one of the trends of that time, is geometric abstraction, which, on the contrary, strives for generalization, for such universalization. And it is not for nothing that within his activity at the Bauhaus, Kandinsky is very much engaged in this geometric abstraction, which seems to formulate the laws of world order, to speak in the most universal, general language. In any case, whatever aspect of abstract art is considered, it has indeed become a very important revolution. Indeed, for the first time in its entire existence, art has turned away from the external world and begun its own very important, very conceptual experiment. And even now, abstract art, in various ways, despite the fact that we can already say that more than 100 years have passed since its founding, still evokes the most diverse and contradictory opinions. And I hope our conversation about Vasily Kandinsky's activity, his theories, his works, will be useful and interesting for you, and perhaps will open up some new facets of this topic, this problem for you. Thank you for your attention. Until our next meetings at our lectures.