Zoom: Yellow, Red, Blue of Vassily Kandinsky (1925)

Precursor of the abstract art, Vassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944) is a Russian artist of world fame. He lived in Paris for several years, traveled in Europe, and became known for his theoretical essay : ‘’ Du spirituel dans l’art’’ (Spiritual in Art) in 1911. This famous artist, member of the Bauhaus and creator of the ‘’Blaue Reiter’’, is the founder of abstract art, a great revolution in the art world. Zoom on one of his works : ''yellow, red, blue''

Presentation

This is one of Kandinsky's most famous paintings. It was made in 1925 and is entitled "Yellow, Red and Blue". Belonging to the abstract art movement, this painting has many meanings. Kandinsky's Yellow, Red and Blue is the result of 20 years of research by the painter between colours and strong sensations. 

Description and analysis

First of all, the picture is composed of three colours: yellow, red and blue; and three geometric shapes: triangle, circle and square. Yellow indicates warmth or bright sunny areas. This colour contrasts with the cold tones such as the blue that we can see in the painting. The artist plays with gradations, the opposition of complementary colours, the divergence of shapes, superimpositions and transparency. Some experts think that the painting represents an evening twilight where we go from day to night with yellow and blue and a red twilight in the middle.  

Signification

Through this painting, Kandinsky tells his story but also his artistic journey. These straight, pure lines are inspired by his training at the Bauhaus school in Germany. We can see his taste for curves. The painter has created a painting that can be discovered with the sensitivity of each person, as if each person were listening to a different piece of music. In fact, Kandinsky associated certain sounds with colours when he painted. 

The documentary "The World's Greatest Painters - Kandinsky" will be shown on Thursday 9 June at 8.30 pm on Museum TV and now on our streaming platform.