40 pages • 1 hour read
Wassily KandinskyConcerning the Spiritual in Art
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1911A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
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Index of Terms
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BetaPart 1, Chapter 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “About General Aesthetic”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “Introduction”
Kandinsky begins by affirming that “art is the child of its age” (2) and reflects the ideals of the historical period in which it is made. For this reason, it is pointless for artists today to imitate the art of another era. Nevertheless, one period may feel a “similarity of ideals” (1) to another, which will lead artists to revive the “external forms” of that earlier period. An example is the “sympathy” and “spiritual relationship” that early-20th-century artists feel toward artists of the “primitive” era.
However, the dominance of materialism—characterized by Kandinsky as “the despair of unbelief” and “lack of purpose and ideal” (2)—over thought in the recent past is acting as an obstacle to reviving the ideals of “primitive” art. The ideal of “art for art’s sake” (4) translates, in Kandinsky’s view, to art without purpose. Art lovers look only for an “imitation of nature” (2) in works of art; “inner meanings” are neglected by both artists and viewers. Artists under the grip of materialism are only interested in satisfying “vanity” and “greed” by excelling in a technical sense and competing with their fellow artists.
Kandinsky argues that, to break out of the trap of materialism, art must not only reflect the culture of its time but also awaken to the “spiritual life,” which he defines as a form of perception that remains the same across cultures and eras. Although this is a heavy burden for artists to bear, they must do so out of a sense of mission to ennoble humanity and improve human life.
Part 1, Chapter 1 Analysis
Concerning the Spiritual in Art is divided into two parts. The first deals with general philosophical and aesthetic questions, and the second deals with technical artistic questions. The Introduction foreshadows many of the themes of the book as well as establishes the author’s style, tone, and approach. Kandinsky writes as a practicing artist who is also a theorist and philosopher—someone concerned with the principles of aesthetics and the general moral and intellectual atmosphere of society as it affects the creation and appreciation of art. Further, Kandinsky writes as someone of his own time (the early 20th century) speaking to his contemporaries and referring to intellectual and artistic trends with which they are familiar. This is why, for example, he does not define many of the cultural terms he uses but instead assumes a common understanding and background in these concepts among his readers.
Foremost among the trends Kandinsky discusses is that symbolized by the slogan “art for art’s sake” (4). Also known as aestheticism, this late-19th-century theory argued that art exists as an end in itself, solely for the sake of beauty and aesthetic enjoyment, and should not be made to serve social, moral, or political purposes. Kandinsky interprets “art for art’s sake” (4) as superficial and spiritually empty, and it will turn out to be one of his major targets in the book.
Kandinsky launches his first attack on aestheticism in the Introduction, by depicting an imaginary gallery show in which unenthusiastic spectators applaud generic paintings of landscapes, people, and animals for their “skill” and technical “quality” while ignoring any deeper meaning the paintings might have. According to Kandinsky, artists who subscribe to the aestheticist creed are controlled by greed and envy, competing with their fellow artists and striving merely for technical skill. While concerns like fame, professional advancement, and money should be antithetical to the philosophy of “art for art’s sake” (4), the absence of any deeper purpose for their art means that artists are inevitably seduced by such external markers of value. In such an environment, art loses its inner, spiritual significance. The main body of the book will discuss what that Kandinsky means by the “spiritual life” and how artists may attain it.
Kandinsky asserts that a new movement is emerging that rejects materialism and aestheticism and embraces spiritual values. The book is thus written from an apocalyptic perspective: One era is dying and another is being born, presumably with the help of Kandinsky’s own artistic movement. Kandinsky establishes this perspective at the very beginning of the Introduction by positing art as a reflection of historical eras and suggesting the possibility of a cyclical direction to aesthetic history, one in which the values of remote periods of art may recur in the future. More specifically, Kandinsky believes that the era now emerging shares a kinship with “primitive” art, which ignores realistic depiction in favor of symbolism and spiritual feeling.
