The Mystical Art Of Wassily Kandinsky

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By Kathleen Karlsen

Modern artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), an adherent to the doctrines of Theosophy, set out to accomplish the task of looking beyond the self to the universal so that he could express himself and be renewed simultaneously. One of Kandinsky's early works, Landscape Near Murnau with Locomotive (1909) is indicative in many ways of the later abstractions which were to become his hallmark. Like many of the other modernists, Kandinsky was influenced by primitive art, the art of children and folk art.

The flat hues, patches of bright color and indistinct shapes in Landscape Near Murnau are reminiscent of both child art and peasant textiles. This early abstraction is the beginning of Kandinsky's search for a universal artistic vocabulary of color, line, shape, value, texture and space which would express the spiritual essence which he believed lay beneath all appearances. The development of this artistic vocabulary would result in a harmony of colors and forms which would grant to the viewer contact with the soul of the artist. Kandinsky's philosophy is a romantic vision of well-being and joy. For Kandinsky, the material world is simply a pleasurable vehicle for the immaterial form of the soul.

The sense of immateriality in Kandinsky's art is emphasized by the absence of drawn lines. There is also a lack of clear hierarchy in Kandinsky's art. The space is further distorted by images in the background of his works which sometimes jump in front of images in the center and foreground of his paintings.

Kandinsky's forms are basically organic, the images are relatively idyllic and there energetic rhythm typical of his work. There are few details. It is as if the artist was not to be bothered with grounding himself or his art too solidly on this temporary earth. Kandinsky's spiritual philosophy led him further and further into abstraction. Kandinsky believed that when the new millennium arrived, the end of history would be at hand. His quest for the awakening of soul faculties in preference to the stimulation of the physical senses eventually resulted in a completely non-cultural, non-nationalistic art filled with what he believed was mystical content.

Kathleen Karlsen, MA is a professional artist, a freelance writer and design consultant residing in Bozeman, Montana. Her unique artwork and gifts for flower lovers can be found at http://www.livingartsoriginals.com - For an illustrated article on flower symbolism, see http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowersymbolism.htm - More about flower meanings are at http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowermeaning.htm

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