Improvisation No. 28, Painted by Wassily Kandinsky

¶ … Improvisation No. 28," painted by Wassily Kandinsky in 1912, an example of German Expressionism. Kandinsky used oil and painted on canvas. The size of the canvas is 43 7/8 x 63 7/8 inches. Kandinsky was born and raised in Russia. He also lived in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s and taught there until the Nazis shut down the academy where he taught. With the rise of the Nazi powers, Kandinsky moved to France, becoming a French citizen, and living there until his death in 1944. Kandinsky painted "Improvisation No. 28" while he still lived in Russia. As he painted, World War I approached. Soon after Kandinsky left his career and studies in law and economics, he saw an exhibition by Monet, which inspired him to pursue art full time. After this viewing, he gained admission to an arts academy and began his formal art education studies. Kandinsky, though an Abstract and Expressionist artist, was influenced by Impressionism. Musically, Kandinsky was influenced by the works of Richard Wagner. Spiritually, Kandinsky connected to ideas of Theosophy. Theosophy heavily contributes to his works that are primarily geometric.

The medium is oil paint on canvas. Kandinsky's works, no matter how abstract, always maintain a sense of balance. There is balance in the composition; there is balance in the use of color; there is balance in the use of lines and rhythm. Kandinsky uses color evenly. There are representations of red, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, black, white, and purple. These colors are evenly distributed in the piece; there is area with concentration on one color. The same goes for Kandinsky's use of lines, space, shapes, and other forms. The use of each element is diffuse throughout the piece, giving the work a lot of energy and a lot of harmony. The name of the piece is "improvisation," which makes me think the theme is related to spontaneity. Though the painting is not really "of" anything, the painting loosely resembles a cityscape during the day. Kandinksy had the opportunity to live, teach, and work in several major cities in Europe; perhaps this piece is a spontaneous rendering of one of those cities as he looked upon the view of the city from his studio. This piece is colorful, bold, and though controlled, a bit manic, making "Improvisation No. 28" a good example of German Expressionism.

The subject of the second essay is "Fountain," created by Marcel Duchamp in 1917 as an example of Dadaism. Marcel Duchamp was a French sculptor and installation artist. This piece is a urinal with a signature on the side, "R. Mutt 1917." Duchamp was an active member of the Dadaist movement, which was also collaborative and influenced by Surrealism and Situationalists. Many art historians and critics consider Duchamp's works as precursors to modern and pop art. Duchamp was a Frenchman, who created this piece during the Great War, World War I. The war influenced many artists and thinkers across discourses, expressions, and schools of thought.