Today’s painting was a real challenge to describe! It’s by Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian artist who was one of the pioneers of abstract art. We’ll find out how the Apocalypse, Monet, Matisse and music all came together to influence this work.

And we’ll find out how Kandinksy’s philosophy behind the Improvisation paintings made him an early advocate for long looking!

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) does not have an open access image available but you can see it at https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56670.html

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550 – III. Minuetto allegretto” composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performed by Das Orchester Tsumugi. Courtesy of musopen.org https://musopen.org/music/1577-symphony-no-40-in-g-minor-k-550

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) information https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56670.html

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) audio https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56670.html#relatedpages

Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation No. 31 (Sea Battle) by the National Gallery of Art, 1979?

Wassily Kandinsky, Life and Work, by Will Grohmann. Published by New York, H. N. Abrams, 1958

Monet’s “Haystacks” at Art Institute Chicago https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Claude%20Monet

RECOMMENDED READING

Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky