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Searl 1 A Visual Musician: Musical Elements Within the Paintings of Vassily Kandinsky One of the most influential figures of modern art’s movement towards abstraction was the Russian expressionist Vassily Kandinsky. As a member of the Blaue Reiter movement in Munich, Kandinsky pioneered new concepts in the area of color and composition. Unlike many realist artists, Kandinsky and other Blaue Reiters looked for inspiration not only in other artists and their creations, but also through different mediums and art forms. The study of children’s art, the art of the insane and primitive art was a common practice of the Blaue Reitersi. Kandinsky’s art during early 1910 through the 1920’s is characterized by this initial step towards outside influence. Deeply connected to his unique approach towards the implementation of color is his artistic association to music. Not only was Kandinsky influenced by past and modern artists such as Henri Matisse, but he also drew influence from early twentieth century composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Richard Wagnerii. Pioneers of their time in their own regard, Wagner and Schoenberg utilized new elements of music, such as cluster chords1. This method of voicing was seen in the music world as a step towards modern harmony and later serial composition. In the same way that Schoenberg and Wagner utilized these techniques and others in music, Kandinsky applied them to art. There are many ways that musical influence affected Kandinsky’s art. The main areas of influence are in color theory and composition. The three driving principles that compelled the majority of Kandinsky’s application of music theory to art were his association of musical notes to color, the development and use of color and 1 A cluster chord also known as a “synthetic chord”, is a chord which is derived from a combination of different scale tones and intervals, rather than an orientation of thirds. Searl 2 synthetic geometric abstractions, and the implementation of compositional and orchestrational concepts within his paintings Kandinsky’s association of musical notes to color infused many of his paintings with innovative textures unexplored by previous avant-garde artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Growing up as a devout cellist and violinist, Kandinsky grew to have a broad knowledge of music and was a dedicated amateur musician ii. He was trained in music from the age of five. Kandinsky grew to have as much knowledge of music as most classically trained musiciansiii. Having Synesthesia, Kandinsky’s nervous system associated sensory input of color and sound. While painting, he would hear pitches and would be able to associate color to those notes that he was hearingiv . His relentless creativity is testament to this ability involved in the painting process. Synesthesia is a perceptual condition that causes different stimuli such as hearing or sight to stimulate sensations of different sensory modality. Certain objects, structure, and forms have been found to stimulate different modalities as well ii. Kandinsky characterized notes in music as having the same effect as certain colors. Notes above high C on a staff evoked a feeling of yellow. In his essay, Concrete Art, Kandinsky states: Yellow, for example, possesses the special capacity to ascend higher and higher and to attain heights unbearable to the eye…Blue, with the completely opposite power to “descend” to infinite depths, develops the sounds of.the flute(when it is light blue ), the cello(when it has descended farther), of the double bass with its magnificent deep sounds1 From this first person account it is apparent that Kandinsky attributed specific colors to and attributed specific shades of color to different musical ranges. High notes musical notes above G5 (the second G above middle C on a piano) would be a shade of yellow and these Searl 3 shades would get consistently brighter as the notes moved up. Kandinsky expressed notes in the bass range in the same manner except with the color blue. The lower the note was, the darker the shade of blue. The connection Kandinsky attributes between these two art forms gives many of his paintings a dynamic texture. It also enabled him to break through new grounds in the areas of color and form. Kandinsky’s experiences with synesthesia are best described in an excerpt from Kandinsky’s Reminiscences/Three Pictures, “The violins, the deep tones of the basses, and especially the wind instruments at that time embodied for me all the power for that pre-nocturnal hour. I saw all my colors in my mind; they stood before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me V.” Kandinsky’s musical experiences influenced his art dramatically. One of his most famous paintings is a recollection of the visual reaction he experienced from a concert performed by the Viennese musicians Vienna Hofoper, and the Rosé Quartet on January 2, 1911. The musicians played the music of Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951). The set included the two first works Arnold Schoenberg composed involving chromatic unconventional harmony: Second String Quartet, Op. 10 (1908), and Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11 (1909)v. Immediately awe struck by the music he heard, Kandinsky drew sketches for Impression III 1 during the performance. The final draft shows how drastic planes of color burst into the mind of Kandinsky upon various musical passages. This painting depicts are large mass of yellow towards the right side of the piano (the large black mass in the middle of the image). In addition there is blue towards the left. This is pure example of how Kandinsky visualized high lead and low bass notes. On a piano the bass notes extend from middle C all the way to the last key on the left side. Thus, the left side of the piano is characterized by bass notes. Kandinsky visualized these low notes as shades of blue. To the right of middle C, are all notes of the treble clef (the upper clef in a grand staff notated in all piano music). The piece which Viennese Searl 4 pianist had been playing must have been in the medium/high range of the piano as Impression III shows a large mass of yellow ranging from bright yellow to citrine. This mass emerges from the right side of the piano image and exemplifies how Kandinsky associated high notes of the treble clef (right side of the piano) to shades of yellow. Impression III is an excellent example of Kandinsky’s synesthetic gift. Apart from visualizing certain notes as various shades of color, Kandinsky utilized constructive musical concepts through his development and use of color and synthetic geometric abstractions. He frequently discussed in his writings and conversations with colleagues how an understanding of art and music can increase the value of using associative techniques aimed at enhancing sensory exchange ii. These techniques that Kandinsky believed enhanced sensory exchange were mainly derived from elements of musical composition. He drew influence from mainly two European composers: Richard Wagner and Arnold Schoenberg. Kandinsky claimed that there were two pivotal moments in his artistic career where he was dramatically moved and influenced. One was seeing Monet’s Haystacks in an exhibition in Moscow in 1896 and the other was hearing a performance of German composer, Richard Wagner’s Opera, Lehengrin also in Moscow in the same year ii. Through his music, Wagner taught Kandinsky different approaches to form and texture. Kandinsky was able to translate Wagner’s broad use of chromaticism and shifting tonal centers to his painting through the utilization of multitudes of unrelated color. This technique is seen in many of Kandinsky’s works but is characteristic of Composition VI 2. In the same way that Wagner uses chromatic notes and modally mixed chords to evolve and provoke new sections of fresh harmonic activity, Kandinsky uses a myriad of different colors to produce differing regions in his painting that drastically contrast in color. In Composition VI 2 this is exemplified by regions of white and light colors Searl 5 that connect regions of various contrasting colors. These regions are characterized by fusion of reds, browns and yellows. Kandinsky was careful in how he applied his liberal use of color. Wagner and other composers were also careful about the amount of dissonance they used. When they surrounded strong dissonance with consonance the dissonance seems fitting and complementary. In the same way that Wagner tried to not use so much chromaticism as to make operas and compositions unstable, Kandinsky mixes colors in refined and specific places so the piece is given a coherent feel while seeming chaotic and dramatic simultaneously. He is careful to fill Composition VI with patches of simple color blending that contrast well with the dark and complexly mixed regions. In his essay, Concrete Art , Kandinsky states,” Music, for example, organizes its means(sounds) within time, and painting its means(colors) upon a plane. Time and plane must be exactly “measured” and sound and color must be exactly “limited.” These “limits” are the preconditions of “balance” and hence of composition vi. ” Kandinsky specifically addresses in this statement the importance of space and balance within art and musical composition. Kandinsky heard how Wagner limited his chromaticisim and intense musical passages. This renewed his sense of space and structure in his paintings. This is another of the many contributions musical composition made to Kandinsky’s use of color. Vassily Kandinsky’s concept of fusing different shapes conglomerated with color is an essential element that he heard in the work of Arnold Schoenberg. A cluster chord also known as a “synthetic chord”, is a chord which is derived from a combination of different scale tones and intervals, rather than an orientation of thirds, which is characteristic of conventional harmony up until the time of Wagner. These cluster chords are often derived from chromatic notes that extend out of the key of the piece, while bringing tension and a strong sense of movement upon movement to the original key center. In the same way that Arnold Schoenberg Searl 6 took these concepts such as cluster chords and utilized them on a greater scale in his works, Kandinsky created his own geometric and visual clusters in his art. He uses these synthetic geometric abstractions to complement various aspects of each piece. These abstraction techniques were essential to his creation of works such as: Composition VII 3, Composition VI (1913), and the later On White II 5 (1923). In Composition VII, these synthetic abstractions are mixed in various places but can be prominently seen in the middle left of the painting. Seeing cluster chords as new and unheard harmonies, Kandinsky created these abstractions in an attempt to create his own synthetic figures. He wished to express his unique mental disposition in many ways through these figures. In a letter to Arnold Schoenberg, Kandinsky wrote: I am certain that our own modern harmony is not to be found in the "geometric" way, but rather in the anti-geometric, anti-logical way. And this way is that of "dissonances in art," in painting, therefore, just as much as in music. And "today's" dissonance in painting and music is merely the consonance of tomorrow.... What we are striving for and our whole manner of thought and feeling have so much in common that I feel completely justified in expressing my empathy vi. Kandinsky’s works show a strong focus on the implementation of musical structure and orchestration in his work. In this letter he wrote to Arnold Schoenberg, Kandinsky conveys how he feels connected to Schoenberg because of their combined use of dissonance within their respective art mediums. The new dissonance found in art and music that Kandinsky speaks of is an innovation that led to new artistic approaches such as cluster chords. A crucial part of Kandinsky’s work is the psychological impression that he intended to leave on any viewer of his art. In an attempt to further his ability to bring the viewer on a “spiritual journey” Kandinsky Searl 7 fused elements of orchestral voicing with his conceptualization of color vi . He associated darker less mixable colors such as dark black/purple as bass colors. In music, the bass serves as a foundation for the harmony in each particular moment. Conventionally and in most musical contexts the bass is separated in large intervals from the other harmony executed in that particular moment. Higher notes blend well together because their frequencies are similar and related. For example, C and D notes (a whole step apart) that are voiced an octave above middle C (C5 and D5) would blend well together. The same notes in the bass register such as C1 and D1 would sound muddy and undefined. Kandinsky would use bass and treble colors with these musical concepts in mind. As seen in Composition X 4 (1939), the bass color of black serves as the background or foundation for the other colors in the painting to be showcased. In the same way that the perfect bass note such as C will bring out all the beautiful harmony in a Major 7 #11 upper structure voiced D1, E1, F#1, the black in this piece shows the great relationship between the myriad of mixable colors used in the main body of this work. One of Kandinsky’s best examples of musically orchestrated painting is Composition VI2. This painting’s foundation is built on the dark brownish black mass that emerges from the top left corner of the painting. It extends down the left side and interweaves through the middle. Like the double bass would in an orchestra, these dark colors allow the other brighter colors to be showcased. This implementation exhibits Kandinsky developed musical sense. As a cellist, Kandinsky had first-hand experience playing bass lines within solo ensemble pieces ii. He understood that the best bass lines do not stay put and extend through the music in various rhythms and textures. Thus, this dark mass carries out a similar pattern that a bass might in its path through the middle of Composition VI. Another way in which his paintings imitated musical structure was in their size. Wagner’s two-hour operas and Schoenberg’s long orchestral Searl 8 suites are known for their great lengths. Kandinsky’s Composition VI spans 6' 4 3/4" x 10' and Composition VII spans 6' 6 3/4" x 9' 11 1/8. Music played a significant role in many of Kandinsky’s artistic conceptions. As a result of Synesthesia, Vassily Kandinsky’s artistic mind was always related to music in its interpretation of color. Though the influence of modern composers: Arnold Schoenberg and Richard Wagner, Kandinsky was able to finally link his art with music full circle. This is seen in his art from 1900 on through the twentieth century, after he had developed his approach from his realizations in Moscow in 1894. Kandinsky’s application of music in art was compelled by his association of musical notes to color. As a result he revolutionized the use of color, driven by endless musical inspiration. His development of color usage, synthetic geometric abstractions, and implementation of musical orchestration was a reaction from this initial association. Vassily Kandinsky’s musical influence was breakthrough in its subject matter. Never before had the idea of painting music entered the minds of painters. These abstract forms gave Kandinsky the opportunity to develop his own approach and life-long study. Vassily Kandinsky’s musical approach to painting revolutionized artistic method and brought a new technique to the forefront of modern art in the early twentieth century. His approach was a step towards the unification of the arts. Kandinsky did not view different fine arts as separate. He viewed them as equal, connected and complimentary. For this reason, he is known for being one of the most creative artists of the twentieth century. Searl 9 Works Cited Ashmore, Jerome (Author). "Sound in Kandinsky's painting." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism35.3 (1977): 329. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Foster, Hal, et al. Art Since 1900: Modernism, Anti-Modernism, Post-Modernism. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 2004. Print. Ione, Amy, and Christopher Tyler. "Neurohistory and the arts. Was Kandinsky a synesthete?." Journal of the History of the Neurosciences 12.2 (2003): 223-226. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Kandinsky, Vassily. Concrete Art. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Rpt. in Theories of Modern art. By Herschel B Chipp. Berkleley: n.p., 1968. N. pag. Print. Kandinsky, Wassily. "On Stage Composition." Afterword. The Blaue Reiter Almanac. By Wassily Kandinsky, et al. Ed. Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. New York: Viking Press, 1974. 190-206. Rpt. in The Blaue Reiter Almanac. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Mangan, John (Author). "Thomas de Hartmann: A composer's life." Notes: Quarterly journal of the Music Library Association 53.1 (1996): 18. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010s Teachout, Terry. "Kandinsky's Mistake." Commentary 117.3 (2004): 52. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Searl 10 Illustrations of Footnoted Art 1 Impression III(concert) – Vassily Kandinsky January 1911. Oil and tempera on canvas 2 Composition VI- Vassily Kandinsky-1913 ;Oil on canvas, 195 x 300 cm (6' 4 3/4" x 10'); Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg Searl 11 3 Composition VII – Vassily Kandinsky 1913 ; Oil on canvas, 200 x 300 cm (6' 6 3/4" x 9' 11 1/8"); Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow 4 Composition X- Vassily Kandinsky1939. Oil on canvas. 130 x 195 cm. Kunstzammlung Nordrhein-Westfallen, Düsseldorf. Searl 12 5 On White II- Vassily Kandinsky1923; Oil on canvas, 105 x 98cm; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Searl 13 End Notes i Kandinsky, Wassily. "On Stage Composition." Afterword. The Blaue Reiter Almanac. New York: Viking Press, 1974. 190-206 ii Ione, Amy, and Christopher Tyler. "Neurohistory and the arts. Was Kandinsky a synesthete?." Journal of The History Of The Neurosciences 12.2 (2003): 223-226 iii Mangan, John "Thomas de Hartmann: A composer's life." Notes: Quarterly journal of the Music Library Association 53.1 (1996): 18 iv Ashmore, Jerome (Author). "Sound in Kandinsky's painting." The journal of aesthetics and art criticism35.3 (1977): 329 v Teachout, Terry. "Kandinsky's Mistake." Commentary 117.3 (2004 Foster, Hal, et al. Art Since 1900: Modernism, Anti-Modernism, Post-Modernism. vi