Kadinsky at the Bauhaus

Vasily Kadinsy at the Bauhaus, 1922-23, at the Guggenheim, New York City.

When Kadinsky returned to Moscow after WWI, his style underwent changes that were influenced by the Russian avant-garde. The emphasis on geometric forms promoted by artists such as Kazimir Malevich and Liubov Popova inspired Kadinsky. Although he adopted some trends of the constructivists -- overlapping flat planes, clearly delineated shapes -- his belief in the expressive content of abstract forms alienated him from the rest of the Russians.

In 1922 he joined the faculty at the Bauhaus and found a friendlier environment in which to pursue his painting: he became very interested in the correspondence between colour and form and their psychological and spiritual effects. He believed that the triangle represented active and aggressive feelings; the square represented peace and calm; the circle, spiritual and cosmic calm. "The circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms, it points most clearly to the fourth dimension". The circle became his favourite geometric form in the later years.

Decisive Rose, 1932

Yellow Accompaniment, 1924

Komposition 8, 1923

Here, the colourful interactive forms create a pulsating surface that is alternately dynamic and calm, aggressive and quiet.

Several Circles, 1926

(We were not allowed to take photographs, so the above have been downloaded).