Concerning the Spiritual in Art

Wassily Kandinsky

Courier Corporation, 1914 - Art - 57 pages

A pioneering work in the movement to free art from its traditional bonds to material reality, this book is one of the most important documents in the history of modern art. Written by the famous nonobjective painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866?1944), it explains Kandinsky's own theory of painting and crystallizes the ideas that were influencing many other modern artists of the period. Along with his own groundbreaking paintings, this book had a tremendous impact on the development of modern art.
Kandinsky's ideas are presented in two parts. The first part, called "About General Aesthetic," issues a call for a spiritual revolution in painting that will let artists express their own inner lives in abstract, non-material terms. Just as musicians do not depend upon the material world for their music, so artists should not have to depend upon the material world for their art. In the second part, "About Painting," Kandinsky discusses the psychology of colors, the language of form and color, and the responsibilities of the artist. An Introduction by the translator, Michael T. H. Sadler, offers additional explanation of Kandinsky's art and theories, while a new Preface by Richard Stratton discusses Kandinsky's career as a whole and the impact of the book. Making the book even more valuable are nine woodcuts by Kandinsky himself that appear at the chapter headings.
This English translation of ber das Geistige in der Kunst was a significant contribution to the understanding of nonobjectivism in art. It continues to be a stimulating and necessary reading experience for every artist, art student, and art patron concerned with the direction of 20th-century painting.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - sam_blanch - LibraryThing

Kandinsky makes a very strong case for internally motivated art. I was interested in the shapes and symbols he aligned his analysis - of humanity, religion and what he considers a more broad ...

User Review -

See a javari App of this book with a revised translation
and reconfugred diagrams in a new film
"iScribblers" App for iPod and iPod touch on iTuneshttp://itunes.com/apps/iscribblers
http://javari.com
Cybereditor
New York NY 

Contents

• Introduction: xxv
• The Movement of the Triangle: 6
• Spiritual Revolution: 10
• The Pyramid: 19
• ABOUT PAINTING: 21
• The Psychological Working of Colour: 23
• The Language of Form and Colour: 27
• Theory: 46
• Art and Artists: 53
• Conclusion: 56

Bibliographic information

• Title: Concerning the Spiritual in Art; Dover Fine Art, History of Art; Dover books on art history
• Author: Wassily Kandinsky
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: Courier Corporation, 1914
• ISBN: 0486234118, 9780486234113
• Length: 57 pages
• Subjects: Art / Criticism & Theory; Art / Subjects & Themes / Religious