wassily kandinsky (vas-ah-lee) (can-din-skee) (1866 – 1944) spring brook pta art awareness...

WassilyWassilyKandinskyKandinsky

(Vas-ah-lee)(Vas-ah-lee)(Can-din-skee)(Can-din-skee)

(1866 – 1944)(1866 – 1944)

Spring Brook PTA Spring Brook PTA Art AwarenessArt Awareness

Farbstudie (color study) Quadrate (squares with concentric rings)

Kandinsky was born In Moscow, Russia in 1866Kandinsky was born In Moscow, Russia in 1866

You

Continent: North America

Country: USA

City: Naperville

Language: English

Kandinsky

Continent: Eur-Asia (Europe & Asia)

Country: Russia

City: Moscow (capital)

Language: Russian

4000 miles

• Born in 1866 (142 years ago)

• His parents read him Russian and German fairy tales.

• He played piano and cello.

• He liked to draw and paint. He could copy any painting from memory that he saw in a museum.

• Fascinated with bright colors

• Influenced by the houses and churches of Russia, whose glistening colors gave him the sensation that he was not walking into a building, but into a painting.

Kandinsky – As a BoyKandinsky – As a Boy

Insert picture of Moscow’s influences

St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow

• In 1886 he studied law and economics at the Moscow University.

• After passing his exams he started a teaching career at the Moscow Faculty of Law.

• He had many interests and apparently a great gift to teach himself different skills.

Kandinsky – As a Young ManKandinsky – As a Young Man

• In 1895 he saw Monet’s Haystack paintings. “They were confusing and difficult to recognize”. They were not realistic.

• Influence = To change the way one feels about something • In 1896, at 30, he started a new career as an artist.

Kandinsky – Becomes An ArtistKandinsky – Becomes An Artist

Early Influences: Monet’s HaystacksEarly Influences: Monet’s Haystacks

He painted 20 Haystacks, all were at different times of the day.

Early Influences: Monet’s HaystacksEarly Influences: Monet’s Haystacks

The entire day of light playing upon the same object.

What Is Impressionism?What Is Impressionism?

• Name comes from Claude Monet's Impression: Sunrise

• Impressionist = A group of French artists who painted:• outdoor scenes • short brushstrokes• bright colors that

shimmer• Played with light in

different weather & time of day

Russian InfluencesRussian Influences

A Russian Scene. 1904. Tempera on cardboard, 23x55 cm. Paris, Musée National Art

Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, France.

Murnau in 1900 - Kandinsky LivedMurnau in 1900 - Kandinsky Lived

View with a Railway and a Castle - 1909View with a Railway and a Castle - 1909

Murnau with a Murnau with a ChurchChurch

19101910

Moscow Environs. Earlier than 1908

Kandinsky’s First Abstract PaintingKandinsky’s First Abstract Painting

• Founder of Abstract Art at 44.

• More important to FEEL the painting than have it look REAL.

• He used colors to capture feelings

• He used patterns, like geometric shapes to reflect the rhythm of his work.

Kandinsky – Cossacks, 1911Kandinsky – Cossacks, 1911

• Partly Abstract, still has real elements: • Horse• Building• Birds Flying• Soldiers in Red

Hats (Cossacks) holding sabers.

• Tense, unhappy, doom of war

When He Saw Color, He Heard MusicWhen He Saw Color, He Heard Music

• Kandinsky had a medical condition: when he heard MUSIC he saw COLOR.

• So, when he painted, he heard music

• His pictures were:• free-flowing• geometric• pictographic

“ “ I applied streaks and blobs of colors onto the canvas with a I applied streaks and blobs of colors onto the canvas with a knife and I made them sing with all the intensity I could…”knife and I made them sing with all the intensity I could…”

Kandinsky, Father of Abstract ArtKandinsky, Father of Abstract Art

Kandinsky – Composition VI, 1913Kandinsky – Composition VI, 1913

Composition = Musical Term

Picture Danced:

• rounded waves

• zig-zags • swinging

curves • Crescents


1st Look:• Pink/White Vortex• When do you typically

hear the term Vortex?


1st Look: • Pink/White Vortex• When do you typically


2nd Look: • Torrential Rain &

Waves


1st Look:• Pink/White Vortex• When do you typically


2nd Look:• Torrential Rain &

Waves

3. Lower Center• Crashing, falling colors• Ghostly

KandinskyKandinsky (Sea Battle), 1913 (Sea Battle), 1913

• Very bright and colorful

• Count the colors you see in this picture.

KandinskyKandinsky (Sea Battle), 1913 (Sea Battle), 1913

How many different shapes? • Oval• Square • Circle • Triangle

How many different shapes? • Oval• Square • Circle • Triangle

Find the Lines:• Curvy line • Skinny line• Straight line • Wide line

• What do you think the picture is about ?

Kandinsky – Kandinsky – Sea BattleSea Battle

Kandinsky – Sea BattleKandinsky – Sea Battle

Can you find the can you find the 2 boats at battle ?

cannons

waves

city falling in the distance

Kandinsky – Kandinsky – Sea BattleSea Battle

Compare Sea BattlesCompare Sea Battles

• Compare how each artist painted

• Waves • clouds of smoke• Boats • a "battle"

• looks like a picture taken with a camera

• Lifelike: Realism• Idea: Abstract• Which do you prefer?

Why?

Benjamin West, Battle of La Hogue, c. 1778, National Gallery of Art

Kandinsky = Father of Abstract PaintingKandinsky = Father of Abstract Painting

ABSTRACT • not a “real” picture of a sea

battle• Want you to feel the “mood”

of the battle through color, brush strokes, painted lines, and shapes.

• What colors create energy & excitement?

Colors Make You Feel…Colors Make You Feel…

Pablo Picasso, The Tragedy, 1903,

What is the Mood of Blues & Greens ?• Happy• fear • anger • excitement • Sadness

Are there certain colors that make you feel happy? What are they?

• What if Picasso used Pink & Oranges?

Kandinsky – Farbstudie, Kandinsky – Farbstudie,

• Kandinsky's abstracts became more geometric

• Boxes and Circles – very simple

• What type of rhythm or music do you hear with this painting?

• All the beats are different:

• What color pops in the circle?

• Circle thickness varies

WassillyWassillyKandinskyKandinsky

(can-din-skee)(can-din-skee)

(1866 – 1944)(1866 – 1944)

Spring Brook PTA Spring Brook PTA Art AwarenessArt Awareness

Farbstudie Quadrate (squares with concentric rings)

wassily kandinsky (vas-ah-lee) (can-din-skee) (1866 – 1944) spring brook pta art awareness...

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