After disappearing for decades, a watercolor by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky ended up resurfacing in Germany — and has now sold for a “record” sum.
The painting, called “Gebogene Spitzen” or “Curved Tips,” went under the hammer in Munich over the weekend, according to auction house Ketterer.
The piece ended up selling for nearly €1.13 million ($1.33 million) — over three times its estimated value of €300,000.
The ‘rediscovery’ of a masterpiece
With its geometric shapes and soft color palate, the watercolor was one of the most sought-after pieces made by the artist.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
First abstract watercolor
With his first abstract watercolor, Kandinsky raised eyebrows in 1911. For some, he was a revolutionary, while others considered him insane. In retrospect, the Russian painter, graphic artist and art theorist, who was born on December 4, 1866 in Moscow, was the founder of Abstract Expressionism and had a tremendous impact on the other artists of his day.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
The Blue Rider (1903)
This painting was one of Kandinsky’s earlier works and shares the name of his artists’ group, The Blue Rider, which he founded with Franz Marc in 1912. Apparently, Marc loved horses and Kandinsky liked to paint riders. Since both liked the color blue, they quickly settled on the name.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
Bavarian Village with Field (1908)
Kandinsky spent a lot of time in Murnau, in Bavaria, where he painted churches, villages and forests in brilliant colors. It’s already clear that he was straying from realistic depictions. For him, the emotional impression that colors left was more important.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
Impressions III (Concert) 1911
The internal world of human thoughts was fascinating to Kandinsky – more so than the external world. He looked for rules and structure in his work – which already existed for music in the form of notation. Borrowing from music, he named his works improvisations, impressions or compositions. Instruments and their sounds were depicted with colors. Bright yellow stood for high trumpet tones.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
Composition V (1911)
The new art form, in which colors and forms were liberated, irritated many conservative art lovers. At exhibitions, The Blue Rider art collective was spit on and insulted. Kandinsky’s “Composition V” was even banned from an exhibition.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
Yellow Red Blue (1925)
Kandinsky liked to use primary colors like red, blue and yellow because he felt they calmed people. At the Bauhaus school in Weimar and Dessau, he developed color charts that were based on the theories of Wolfgang von Goethe, who had studied our perception of color and its psychological impact.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
Picture II, Gnomus (1928)
Wassily Kandinsky was a synesthete. Like some composers of his time, he dreamed of creating a “Gesamtkunstwerk” by combining music, art, dance and poetry. He made an attempt to synthesize various art forms with his stage play “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Based on the music of Modest Mussorgsky, he designed geometric elements and dancing figurines.
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Master of abstract art: 150th anniversary of Wassily Kandinsky’s birth
Sky Blue (1940)
During his time at the Bauhaus school, Kandinsky’s works were characterized by geometric forms. He changed his style while living in exile in Paris. In his later works, he created amorphous forms and shapes which appeared surrealistic. But very few Paris galleries were willing to show his paintings. In exile, Kandinsky was no longer able to achieve the fame he’d enjoyed in Russia and Germany.
Author: Gaby Reucher (kbm)
Painted in 1927, the piece went on to be displayed in Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and Brussels. The last time it was seen in public was believed to be in 1932, according to the auction house.
It was then believed to be sold by an art dealer in 1949 and disappeared from the public eye for over 70 years.
The whereabouts of Kandinsky’s “Gebogene Spitzen” stumped art experts and researchers — only known by a sketch the artist did.
The painting ended up surprisingly resurfacing in May this year. It was part of a private collection belonging to a person who lived in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
“Accordingly, this extremely pleasant rediscovery of the watercolor ‘Gebogene Spitzen’ in the state of a private collection in the Rhineland may well be considered an art-historical sensation,” the auction house said in a statement.
Who was Wassily Kandinsky?
Kandinsky, who died in 1944 at the age of 77, was a Russian artist and theorist known for his abstract works.
He lived in Germany for several years, teaching at the Bauhaus school for art and architecture before it was shut down by the Nazis in 1933.
He then left Germany for France, where he lived until his death.
This report was written in part with material from German press agency DPA.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/missing-kandinsky-masterpiece-sells-for-over-%E2%82%AC1-million/a-57975260?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
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