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His style of writing is difficult to understand due to its “didactic style” (128). When Kandinsky met Monet’s paintings in Moscow according to Selz, Kandinsky realized that “the material object was not a necessary element in his painting” (128-129). According to Selz, “the conscious rejection of the human form” is one of the psychological reasons (129). Selz believes that Worringer influenced Kandinsky’s view on non-objective art because Worringer published his book two years before Kandinsky first released his non-objective painting and it is also a fact that the two knew each other (129).
Kandinsky published his first essay in non-objective art and firmly told everyone that the incident where he saw his painting with such beauty while he was entering his studio made him believe that the “representation of art in nature is superfluous” (129-130). According to him, objective art is ‘mixed art’ which is a result of the combination of artistic and natural elements. Objective art on the other hand is ‘pure art’ that resulted from artistic means only (130). Kandinsky opposed Roger Fry in his theory about form (130). Selz disagrees with Kandinsky on the “element of representation” (130). Kandinsky believes that “form is only an expression of content” (130-131).
The form can come from either ‘great abstraction’ or ‘great realism’. In ‘great realism’ art is more direct and the inner feeling of the art is expressed through simple objects (131). He concluded by saying that “In principle, there is no problem of the form” (131-132). Kandinsky’s core of the aesthetic theory is the expression of the inner soul or the ‘principle of internal necessity’. He believes that without the inner content of the art, its form is dead (132). Kandinsky respects Schonberg and his “panchromatic scheme” (132-133).
For a painter, color is a major play in a painting. It’s the element that can speak to the inner emotion of people (133). Political pressure from Kandinsky’s former organization pushes him to leave and continue his same activity in the Bauhaus (135). The significance was the “grammar of line, forms, and space” (134). Kandinsky’s work in art was considered the beginning of expressionism where the inner soul is the focus (134-135).