Wassily Kandinsky

Nina Kandinsky, Paris (by descent from the artist in 1944)
Galerie Maeght, Paris
Galerie Tarica, Paris
Galleria Galatea, Turin
Sale: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London, March 30, 1977, lot 134
Sale: Germann, Zürich, November 23, 1977, lot 10
Sale: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, November 2, 1978,  lot 144 
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Artist's Handlist, Watercolours, listed as 'vii 1931, 430, Dunkle Zacken'
Vivian Endicott Barnett, Kandinsky Watercolours, Catalogue Raisonné, 1922-1944, vol. II, London, 1994, no. 1040, illustrated p. 310
 

 

There are tiny losses of medium at the lower left corner and one tiny loss along the extreme right framing edge. There are a few tiny spots of unevenness in the black background. Over all, this work is in very good condition. Colors: The black background is more variegated and fresher than it appears in the catalogue illustration.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Dunkle Zacken dates from Kandinsky's years spent in the industrial town of Dessau, where the Bauhaus was relocated in 1925.  Forced to leave Weimar due to the actions of the right-wing political forces, the school eventually moved into its celebrated Dessau building designed by Walter Gropius and completed by 1926.  Kandinsky stayed at Dessau until its closing in October 1932, decreed by the National Socialists.  His watercolors and paintings of this period are dominated by circles, triangles and straight lines.  This focus on strict geometric forms reflects the influence of Russian Constructivist art, to which he was exposed during the war years spent in Moscow.  With artists such as Kandinsky and Moholy-Nagy, however, Constructivist art gained an international scope and become an important artistic force in Germany, where geometry was accepted as a universal artistic language.

 

Clark V. Poling wrote about Kandinsky's work from the Dessau years: "This was a very productive period for Kandinsky's art.  After he applied in his painting the abstract principles articulated in Point and Line to Plane and in his teaching, he developed a diverse set of pictorial images and modes.  Some of these represent particular responses to the Bauhaus context and to his colleagues, most notably Klee" (C. V. Poling, Kandinsky, Bauhaus and Russian Years (ex. cat.), The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1983, p. 56).  In the present work, Klee's influence is visible in the precise, delicate rendering of the line and the use of soft, almost translucent colors in the middle of the composition.  The darker forms to the left and right are reminiscent of curtains that open up to reveal a world of abstract signs and geometric shapes.  This arrangement could have been influenced by the Bauhaus Stage, a theatre branch of the school that developed modern, non-narrative performances, and to which Kandinsky was an avid contributor.