Riding the Sound of a Painting - Improvisation 28 by Wassily Kandinsky

It should be no surprised that pieces of art created in a short period of time will always fall back on the standard style and themes that the artist holds internally. Wassily Kandinsky always eluded to his respect of music by naming many of his paintings after the subject. His famous Composition line holds less than a dozen pieces in it, probably due to the fact that each piece in the line required hours of study and days to complete. In contrast, Kandinsky has dozens of Improvisations that were of a more personal, spiritual nature. In his writings, he admitted to a preference for the Revelation of Saint John when working on these pieces.

Improvisation 28 is one of the later ones that occurred while the pioneering artist was still in the border of Germany. It is shallower than his later works, in that the meaning can be more easily garnered by a few moments of looking rather than days of soul searching. One of the biggest notes in the painting is of course the humans present throughout it riding something. In his earlier works, he drew people on horseback something that was common in his native land’s stories. In this abstract painting, the riders are shown to progress in a story from the left side of the canvas to the right. On the left, we see mountains and an environment that is rife with chaos. Depressive colors and wiggling lines showed a world without order that the rider moves forward through symbols of great pain. Their boat sails- perhaps riding on a great deluge- past wriggling serpents and cannons.

But the abstract painting also offers a resolution. From the harsh waves of the left, we are brought to a state of rest. Houses are built upon a hill, and a figure sleeps peacefully on the bottom right corner. Lines become solider, less broken and the colors warmer. The couple that rode the waves now embrace under the warm red sun, and it seems they have lit candles - maybe in celebration or as a way to guide others to their place of rest. Although only one couple is shown journeying, the house they come to is bordered by another complete one and on in progress, suggesting that others will join them. 

Exceptional fine art like this painting from Kandinsky is obviously only attainable for a handful of privileged, however, today, the average consumer is able to obtain fabulous canvas art in many art galleries and online venues thanks to emerging and talented artists, that may one day become as famous as Kandinsky.