Blue Mountain - Kandinsky - Research Paper Example

Dear Jane, I am writing to you from the of Munich in Germany. It is the place where a famous and expressionistic work by Vasilii Kandinskii, Blue Mountain, was painted in 1908-1909. Blue Mountain is an oil on canvas paining that is now held at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. I am here, in Munich, in order to find out more about the city and culture that influenced the creation of this Kandinskii’s paining – I believe feeling the nature of the place where the paining was made will help me to better understand the painting itself.

For the artist it was an apocalyptic narrative – a story of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse who will destroy the world to make it a better place. All this, however, is not too cheap – a week’s staying in Munich cost me nearly $2,000 together with the tickets. As I already mentioned, the city is located in Germany. It the capital city of the famous German Bavaria. Bavaria, in its turn, is famous for its bear and sausages that are served to it. Munich is an old city that combines modern architecture with historic buildings.

The entertainment possibilities are great – discos, cinemas, theatres, classical music and opera venues, music clubs, art galleries and, of course, beer halls. The city is not far from the Alps, has two rivers - the Isar and the Wurm, and enjoys a continental climate somewhat modified due to the city’s closeness to the mountains. “Blue Mountain” I am interested in is pained by oil. This picture is not too large – 41 3/4 x 38 inches, but contains three horse rides on a background of trees and a blue mountain.

Instead of using actual texture Kandinskii uses color to create the impression of the presence of texture. The picture was created in the era of Abstractionism. Romanticism, Impressionism and Expressionism of the 19th century Europe and America contributed to the popularity of Abstractionism. It was also greatly impacted by the mysticism and mystical teachings that became extremely popular at that time in the world and did have some influence on Kandinskii too. That is why Kandinskii, just like many other artists of that time, turns to the religious theme in his works.

“Blue Mountain” pictures some kind of a procession with distinctly seen three riders. They are riding across a red and an orange tree, behind which a mountain is seen. It is a 2D creation of oil on canvas that is represented by bright colors that are rather equally used by the artist. Colors became the major tool for creating the piece of art. Colors seem to be independent from forms. As for the author, Vasilii Kandinskii was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1866 and spent his early years in Moscow and Odessa (Ukraine).

He died in 1944 in n Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, being already a French citizen. Kandinskii got a degree in Law and then studied at Azbe's art school in Munich. During his life the artists met many other writers who had an influence on his own work. Among them are Rolf Niczky, Gustav Freytag, Waldemar Hecker, Wilhelm Huggen, Franz Marc, and Hilma af Klint. However, not only other people influenced Kandinskii - Irina Gutkin (1999) writes that Kandinskii himself became an influential individual who helped the society of his time to get closer to a “revolution of the spirit” (Gutkin, 1999: 12).

So I am really happy I had a chance to get closer to the personality of this great artist by means of visiting the city where he spent much time. Sincerely, … Reference: Gutkin, Irina (1999). The cultural origins of the socialist realist aesthetic, 1890-1934. Northwestern University Press.