Improvisation

Until November 19th in the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, you can visit the Expressionism in Russian Art exhibition. Today we present one of the masterpieces presented there. :) Enjoy!

At the beginning of the 20th century, European art took a new direction: expressionism, a movement that manifested itself differently according to various interpretations at national art schools. One of the main proponents of the movement was Vasily Kandinsky, whose painting Improvisation (completed in 1910) is among his most famous works. At first glance, the image might look like a petit-genre. In the painting, a blue boat can easily be distinguished under a yellow sail; underneath, a group of rowers is getting shot from a firing squad standing on the shore. On closer examination, however, the arbitrariness in the use of colors and shapes becomes evident.

The expressionist nature of the painting shows itself in the red cloud and the lightning striking from it, as well as in the bent yellow cannon in the foreground and the bridge across the river. Other elements on the canvas are simply treated as ornaments, such as the spray of water behind the boat, or the stylized colored figures with swords on the right.

This picture seems to mark the moment in which Kandinsky is freed from the significance of the event, using it as a mere pretext for arbitrary aesthetic improvisations, as suggested by the title of the work. “A minor or major reminder of reality appears to the viewer as an echo, and this happens to everyone who has feelings,” wrote Kandinsky, using his musical associations. He compared, for example, the impact of yellow with the music produced by a trumpet, blue with the sounds of the cello, and cinnabar red with drum beats.

P.S. Here you can dive into Kandinsky’s world of Russian fairy tales!