Kandinsky Day

Today was the first day of the June BRIGHT art class. There was a great turnout for the class, and I can already tell my students are very smart, respectful, talented, and eager to learn! What more would you ask for?? We learned about the artist Wassily Kandinsky.

Kandinsky was born in Moscow, Russia in 1866. He originally went to school for law and didn't start painting until he was 30! He, along with other Russian artists, moved to Germany to pursue art. In 1911, these arts formed a group called, "Der Blaue Reiter," or "The Blue Rider" in English. They used symbolism of blue horses or blue men in horseback in their art. The color blue was considered to be a spiritual color and the Blue Rider group wanted to add spirituality into art. Some of Kandinsky's later works are said to represent the chaos of the apocalypse and other Biblical scenes. He taught at the Bauhaus School of Art until it was closed  by the Nazi party in 1933. Kandinsky's earliest influence was local Russian folk art. When he was young, he was mesmerized by the bold, bright colors and the way the dark background make the colors pop.

 

Kandinsky's earliest work absolutely reflects this influence.  You can see the bright colors popping from the dark backgrounds. 

 

Munich-Schwabing with the Church of St. Ursula by Wassily Kandinsky, 1908

 Murnau, Dorfstrasse (A Village Street) by Wassily Kandinsky, 1908

His later works became mostly non-representational abstracts. This means specific objects, people, or animals could not be seen- only simple shapes and lines.

 Kandinsky's On White II (1923).

Wassily Kandinsky's Composition VII, 1913

Kandinsky, Color Study of Squares, 1913

Kandinsky, Cpmposition VIII, 1923

 Kandinsky, Several Circles, 1926

Kandinsky made a lot of paintings in his career! To see the full list in chronological order, check out Wikipaintings. Here are some of the wonderful Kandinsky-inspired creations my class made tonight!

 We even learned the process can be art in itself! Since today was the first day, it was kind of a flurry or activity and I only got a few photos. (The art that was left to dry after everyone left) On the agenda for tomorrow: Paleolithic cave painting!