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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.
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Spiritual Revolution Through Creativity
For Wassily Kandinsky, social progress consists of an increasing level of spirituality in society, and artists are the leaders of this progress. Kandinsky defines this role by stating that “every man who steeps himself in the spiritual possibilities of his art is a valuable helper in the building of the spiritual pyramid which will some day reach to heaven” (20). Kandinsky’s vision for art thus has an element of the utopian, with the arts serving a clear moral purpose in leading humankind toward an ideal state of being. They do this by enhancing people’s spiritual consciousness, helping them shed the idea that matter is all that exists and that science and reason can explain everything.
However, Kandinsky stresses that artists do not automatically belong to a higher spiritual level; they are found also in the lower and less spiritual segments of the triangle. Enlightenment in artists, as in society on the whole, comes with greater spiritual consciousness and desire to express “inner life” instead of the purely external aspects of the world. Artists tap into the imaginative and spiritual sides of human experience, speaking directly to the heart and soul “in the language that is peculiarly their own” (19), such as using colors, sounds, or words. To some degree, Kandinsky equates representational art with materialism, and he equates spiritual progress in art with the increasing acceptance of abstraction.
Kandinsky’s view of society is on the whole optimistic, reflecting the modern idea of progress; he believes that artists are becoming more spiritual and are helping society to move in a similar direction, breaking the power of materialism and rationalism and leading to an ideal, heavenly state for humanity.
The Affinity of Visual Art and Music
Throughout the book, Kandinsky draws parallels between the visual arts and other art forms, and most particularly between painting and music. Kandinsky himself was talented in both music and painting as a child, and musical experiences continued to have importance for him as he pursued his artistic career; for example, a performance of Wagner’s opera Lohengrin influenced him to become a painter.
Kandinsky’s experience of synesthesia led him to associate qualities of different art forms with each other and, for example, to hear sounds in his mind in response to form and color. In Chapter 6, Kandinsky draws specific parallels between colors and sounds, comparing deep blue with the sound of the organ and bright yellow with a high, piercing trumpet. Relatedly, Kandinsky describes successful art as causing “vibrations” in the soul of the viewer, like a pianist vibrating the piano strings. In the final chapter, Kandinsky uses the musical terms “melodic,” “symphonic,” and “rhythmic” to describe different types of composition in painting, while earlier in the book he speaks of paintings having elements of “counterpoint” like musical compositions.
All these examples indicate that art and music were very closely connected for Kandinsky. Indeed, in Chapter 4 Kandinsky sees music as in some ways the leader of the other arts and the one they should strive to imitate. This is because music is the art least tied to the depiction of material things, and thus closest to the ideal of abstraction. Instead of having to use the physical world as a mediator, music springs directly from emotion.
In addition, musical sound according to Kandinsky “acts directly on the soul” and “is innate in man” (27); thus, music provides the model for how all the arts should communicate. Kandinsky believes that the rapprochement of the various arts is a sign of the progress of the spiritual triangle, since artists in various fields are reaching toward a common spiritual ideal.
The Obligations of the Artist
In the Translator’s Introduction, M. T. H. Sadler describes a change in the relationship between artists and society around the turn of the 20th century. In the heyday of Romanticism and aestheticism, artists defined themselves against the conventions and values of “bourgeois” society; they were seen as “bohemians” who embraced eccentric lifestyles. Now, in the early 20th century, “modern artists are beginning to realize their social duties” (xiii).
In the main text, Kandinsky bears this statement out. He frequently emphasizes the connection between art and society and the duties and responsibilities of artists toward the wider social order. This theme is implied in Kandinsky’s concept of the spiritual triangle, in which artists act as the leaders of society in lifting it to a higher level of spiritual consciousness.
The theme comes to the fore in Chapter 8, in which Kandinsky lists the various duties of artists. Kandinsky declares that art is not pleasure but “hard work” and even “a cross to be borne” (54). Artists have three specific duties. Because they were given talent, they must repay this gift to society. They must maintain a purity in their “deeds, feelings, and thoughts” (54) and then “exercise influence on the spiritual atmosphere” (55) through their works.
Although the artist is a “king” and a “priest of beauty,” this power comes with corresponding responsibilities. Kandinsky implies that instead of isolating themselves from mainstream society and adopting an “alienated” pose, artists are to be full members of the social order.
In Chapter 7, Kandinsky emphasizes that although modern art styles are opening a door of freedom for artists, this freedom must be exercised with wisdom and restraint instead of “aimless extravagance.” Kandinsky implies that art cannot be mere personal expression, but must have a moral dimension, thus tempering his claims for the primacy of inner expression throughout the book.
This more sober and rational approach to social life could be seen as parallel to Kandinsky’s claim that modern artists embrace “conscious creation” instead of romantic spontaneity in the planning of artistic compositions.
