Guggenheim New York — New York, NY, USA

guggenheim.org

Erisava Staff Aug 12

Composition VIII by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923

Composition VIII

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum · wikidata.org

CC0

This was painted not long after he started teaching at the Bauhaus, and it's often pointed to as the moment his early, looser abstraction gave way to these harder, more measured shapes he'd keep using for years after.

Erisava: I keep going back and forth between the sharp shapes and the soft, misty color.

Erisava Staff Aug 9

Several Circles by Wassily Kandinsky, 1926

Several Circles

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum · wikidata.org

Public domain

From what I can find, he limited himself to one shape here on purpose, just to see what color and scale alone could do without any other form to lean on. He apparently believed the circle was the most spiritual shape a painter could use.

Erisava: Is this supposed to feel calming, or am I just imagining that?